A Wolf's Swan
by Unwritten Whispers
Summary: Paul ends up finding his imprint. Unfortunately she happens to be Bella's little sister. But unlike Bella, Marilyn Swan doesn't allow herself to become a pushover - she's headstrong, and she knows exactly what she wants in life. Unfortunately for Bella, she wants Paul. And unfortunately for Paul, she also wants Bella.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Ooh La Push boys…" rolling her eyes when she heard one of the girls behind the counter begin to giggle because La Push boys have entered the diner, fifteen year old Marilyn Swan snorted when Tracy began to play with her hair and then propped up her boobs before saying, "I'll get their table, Marilyn."

Shrugging her shoulders, not really in the mood to have to deal with Tracy's antics today because she was too busy worrying over her older sister now that the Cullens have returned and Bella was back to being reclusive and weird, Marilyn snorted, "As if I want anything to do with anyone from La Push right now…"

Turning around in curiosity, wondering if all La Push boys were truly as hot as everyone always made them seem since the only one she's ever met before was Jacob Black, well and Sam Uley, and neither of them were bad looking, Marilyn cringed. Of course Jacob would be in Forks with a few of his friends. He'd spent months trying to get into Bella's pants while bringing her back to life, but now that Edward was back he had to resort back to stalking her from far. She had never been as close to Jacob in the same way her sister had always been, but Marilyn knew that if she needed anything he was always just a phone call or a message on facebook away; they were friends even if they never hung out together or talked all the time. Jacob had always been too obsessed with Bella, and Marilyn had always been too busy keeping to herself and focusing on work. But she always considered Jacob close enough of a friend to be like a brother and practically considered one of her best friends.

Though she had to admit that he definitely filled out more and grew more attractive since she saw him last, which had to have been about three or four months ago. Bella was just getting out of her zombie phase when Marilyn last saw Jacob. His hair was extremely short now, and almost shaggy looking, it looked as if he overdosed on steroids, he seemed to have a tattoo, and he must have grown an entire foot. His dark brown eyes stared across at her in mixed confusion and amusement. As attractive as Jacob turned out though, Marilyn found herself watching his friends instead. Now she could understand why all of the other waitresses in the diner began to twirl their hair and giggle; it took everything in her power not to do the same. And she only restrained because she knew that Jacob would never let her live it down if she giggled over his friends or twirled her hair or batted her eyes for them.

God damn, the boys over on the reservation were hot!

They all had to be over six feet tall, the shortest one looking about six foot three or six foot four; still shorter than what Jacob looked now. All of them were the same gorgeous russet complexion as Jacob, and they all had similar features in small ways: tall, muscular, dark hair, dark eyes, matching tribal tattoos on their right shoulders… they were all handsome in their own ways.

One of them stood out the most though; he seemed to call to Marilyn heavily, causing her breath to hitch in her throat once her eyes met his onyx colored ones. His jaw was angled so perfectly that his cheekbones were on point and you could see the way his mouth's muscles clenched tightly when he clenched his teeth or sucked in air through his teeth (which he'd done three times so far since she started staring at him) while his broad nose inhaled sharply and then twitched. His dark menacing eyes widened then narrowed, then softened in something unreadable, and his large hand clenched into a fist at his side while he continued to stare across at her. Dressed in cutoff jeans like the others in his group, but wearing a light grey undershirt rather than a white or black or red one like the others all seemed to be wearing, this particular friend of Jacob's also had messy and tussled hair. He wasn't the tallest, but he seemed about the same height as Jacob did now, and even from across the diner, Marilyn could see that she wouldn't even reach his shoulders.

While staring at him in mixed confusion, Marilyn noticed that he stared back at her; his eyes were drawn to hers. She tried to look away, but the longer he stared the more she stared back. It felt for a moment like he was peering past her eyes, seeing deeper into her soul, but she knew it was impossible; his looks alone told her that he was the type to forget her name. It looked as if he was holding his breath while staring at her; he was lost in his own thoughts while looking into her eyes. She wondered what he saw.

Could he see an exhausted fifteen year old girl afraid for her older sister?

Continuing to stare across at the group from behind the counter, seeing the way they all stared at her in confusion before looking back at the one she couldn't remove her eyes from for some reason, Marilyn saw that Tracy approached them with six menus. Instantly Jacob shook his head, and then pointed across at Marilyn. Tracy's murderous blue eyes turned on the fifteen-yar-old girl instantly, and she stalked across the diner angrily, "I thought you hated people from La Push…"

"I didn't say I hated people from La Push!" snapped Marilyn at once, taking offense to that statement as she took the six menus away from the other girl. It was as if a spell had been broken the moment she looked away from the one guy because she remembered how to breathe now, and from across the diner he shook his head and then walked across to a large booth with the others so they could all attempt to squeeze in together. "I just said I didn't want anything to do with them."

"Well the hot one said he wants you to take their orders," scoffed Tracy, looking as if she couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want her to be their waitress.

"The hot one?" glancing back at where Jacob seemed to be laughing about something with his friends, and flexing his newfound muscles, Marilyn cocked a brow then looked back at the other girl, "You mean Jake? He's not ugly, but have you seen his friends, Tracy? I wouldn't call _him_ the hot one."

Glancing back at the booth, where the others were all now laughing while Jacob looked a little deflated, Tracy looked them all over carefully then shrugged her shoulders, "They're all hot. Go take their orders, then come back here and tell me just exactly how you know one of the hot guys from La Push."

"His dad and my dad are best friends, we knew each other since we were in diapers, he was the one who fixed up my sister's truck for her, and he was the one who fixed the brakes on my car for me when they broke down," shrugged Marilyn, checking to make sure she had her little book inside of her apron to write down the orders, "Nothing else to say…"

Having had moved to Forks from Phoenix in January the year before, Marilyn tried to remain invisible with her sister. But being the only two new students in a small town in three years, and then having had been the chiefs two daughters brought them both a lot of attention they didn't want on them, so the two sisters made friends despite not really in the mood for new ones since they missed their old ones back home. But it was the night after their first day of school when Charlie took them both out to eat that Marilyn spotted the help wanted sign hanging up in the window of the diner. Back home in Phoenix she had a worker's permit from the day she turned fourteen, and she worked at a bookshop for a few hours after school just so she could make money to go out with her friends once in a while, and buy herself whatever she needed. Now that she was living with her dad, she wanted a way to buy her own things even more so – she didn't feel right asking her dad for thirty bucks a month just so she could buy pads and tampons; it felt a little too weird for her.

She was also looking forward to having her own money so she could go out with whatever new friends she'd make while living here, despite not wanting to making any new friends while living here; her dad seemed like the type to prevent her from going out with people by withholding money from her – this way she had her own money so he wouldn't have that hold over her. She remembered how her mom once tried that to keep her from going to the movies with this one boy that her mom didn't like; Justin paid for everything that night anyways.

It was now April, Marilyn was in her sophomore year at Forks High School, just a month away from her sixteenth birthday, and she'd been working at this diner for a year and three months; she had a routine down pact.

School got out at three every day, and she started work at the diner at 3:30. The diner was only a ten minute drive from the school, and the year before Bella would always drop Marilyn off since their dad bought her a truck from Billy when they first moved in with him. The law said that anybody still in school (high school, not college) couldn't work past 10pm on a school night, and midnight on non-school nights, so Marilyn worked 3:30-8:00pm from Monday through Thursday, and she had Fridays and Saturdays off just to rest those two days and then it was agreed that on Sunday she'd work from 8am-5pm. She had wanted to work all the way to ten on the weeknights, but the diner felt that four and half hours was good enough for a fifteen-year-old since she still had to do things like her homework.

In the beginning her dad seemed a bit disappointed that his youngest daughter was always gone, and proving to him that she wasn't a little girl anymore, but Bella was already used to her little sister being gone constantly; she did this in Phoenix as well. In the beginning either Charlie or Bella would pick her up after work, mostly Bella, but there were a few nights when she caught the bus. Her dad almost had a heart attack when he found out his baby girl waited outside of the diner, in the cold, from 8:10pm to 8:20pm; she didn't get home until 9:30pm, and spent fifteen minutes walking from the bus stop to their house. Bella had fallen asleep early, exhausted from whatever it is she does, and Marilyn knew that her dad was busy with work, so she didn't bother to call him to pick her up.

She actually liked riding the bus; she listened to her iPod, and got some of her homework done.

Just two days after she began working down at the diner her dad actually tried to tell her that if she fell behind with her school work he would make her quit her job, but she only laughed at him – she worked on her homework during homeroom, the fifteen minute break between second and third period, and lunch while at school, and at the diner she had a dinner break from 6:30-7:15 (which thankfully she could stay on the clock for), and she got more homework done then. When she got home from work she worked out for a bit, took a shower, and then finished up the rest of it; she was sleeping by midnight with all of her homework completed. Except for the nights she caught the bus home, those two nights kept her up until a little after one… but either way she wasn't falling behind on anything. Even if she did enter this new school in the middle of January.

But then Marilyn changed everything up once again. After turning fifteen she got her driver's permit, and managed to save up enough money from her job to buy herself a car off of craigslist. It was a black '98 Honda civic, automatic, and it had cost her $975 flat, but it was in good shape. And Bella had already been dating Edward at that time, having had gotten over her anxiety attack that had her running away to Phoenix to escape him, so Edward and Bella drove her into Seattle to pick up the car to make sure the deal was legitimate and not just some creeper trying to lure in a fifteen-year-old girl. Because Marilyn was still only fifteen, and only had her permit and not her license yet it took a bit of persuasion for the guy to sign the car over to her, but an hour later she finally had her own car. It needed new breaks, which Jacob fixed up for her, but it was hers and it was working, and it got her to and from school and to and from work.

Because she only had her permit she could only use it strictly for school and work unless she had somebody with a license with her at all times, and so far the insurance had been under her sister's name because no insurance company would dare give insurance to a fifteen-year-old, though Marilyn was the one who paid for it, but May sixth was only a month away now, and Bella was going to sign the insurance over to Marilyn once she got her actual license in her hands; it was all planned out. And Marilyn knew this was what frustrated her dad the most – in January his fourteen-year-old daughter got herself a job as a waitress, in July she bought herself a car at only fifteen, and at sixteen she would have insurance under her own name. His baby girl didn't need him to support her. She bought her own toiletries, she bought her own clothes, she paid her own phone bill, she bought her own things, she never asked for money; she supported herself.

And when Edward left Bella without a goodbye or an explanation, and all of the Cullens up and disappeared in the middle of the day, Marilyn managed to keep up her good grades, keep her job, and take care of her older sister as she turned into a zombie. Marilyn got Bella ready for school, drove her, brought her home before rushing off to the diner, and once she got home from the diner she would feed her sister, make sure her sister's homework was done and correct, and then she'd make sure Bella took a shower and then she'd put her in bed before doing her own things – Marilyn played the sister role, the mother role, and the father role. Marilyn continued to take care of herself while taking care of her sister, there was always food on the stove or in the oven, the house was always kept clean, and she would even spend her days off taking her sister out to the movies or just for a drive to make sure Bella got some clean air and didn't stay locked up in the house all day. When Bella woke up screaming from her nightmares it was Marilyn who ran into the room to make sure her sister was alright and knew that she was loved, and when Jacob came into the picture and began to bring Bella back to life, Marilyn willingly stepped back and allowed him to take over until Bella returned home and then she'd be there again.

Marilyn and Jacob worked as a separate team – he stayed with Bella while Marilyn was at work, and when Bella's time with Jacob was over, her sister would step back into the picture. And it helped – Bella came back to life and was happy again. There was that time when Jacob disappeared for a while too, and Bella broke again, but Marilyn not once left her sister's side. And then Jacob came back, and things were back to normal again.

Then the Cullens returned, Edward apologized, Jacob stopped coming around and stopped calling, and now Bella was acting stranger than she ever had before. In the beginning Marilyn actually liked Edward because he made her sister happy, but now she despised him and his entire stupid family – they were only hurting Bella. And they were putting a strain on the sisters' relationship. Now Bella spent all of her free time with the Cullens, and it was as if those months of torture had never happened; as if Bella had never been hurt and abandoned. She forgot all about her little sister, the little sister who not once complained about having to take care of her and nurse her back to life.

Marilyn had never abandoned her sister, but once Edward returned Bella had no problem abandoning her. And it hurt as much as it pissed her off – the Cullens ruined the Swan sisters' relationship, and Marilyn already knew it could never be fixed.

So now she spent all of her time working, and when she wasn't working she would concentrate on school. Bella had applied to a school in Alaska, making it known she was choosing to follow after Edward once they graduated, but Marilyn wasn't as heartless as her sister was – she was going to apply to Washington State or maybe even Forks Community College so she could stay home and help her dad out. That was still two years away from now, but if she started planning it out now she could have it figured out by then. Junior year was when you started focusing on applying for universities, and she was only a few months away from then.

And she loved working in the diner; it was so different compared to working as a cashier in a bookshop. She only got paid $4 an hour, which wasn't that much seeing as how she only worked from 3:30-8:00, four days a week; she made $18 a day basically, only working four and a half hours, and on Sundays she made $36. She kept a small little pink and white polka-dotted handbook in her purse, and she calculated the hours she worked and the days in it. From Monday through Thursday she made $72; which would be her weekly flat rate. And every Sunday she would always bring in a flat rate of $36. But even with her extra hours on Sunday she would only bring in $108 weekly, which would equal up to $216 every paycheck. But they take out for taxes, so every paycheck she would only bring home $168.27… and that was if she worked every day she was meant to, and didn't get sick or call out, which she's done a few times in the past. And she was also lucky that as a young kid they didn't take out too much of her taxes. One of the older women who worked on Sundays with her got her paychecks cut down in half completely because of the taxes they took out, and since she claimed for two people. Marilyn claimed zero, so for her taxes they only took out $47.23; it was still a lot to take out when claiming zero, but at least it wasn't half of her paycheck or over half of it.

Nobody couldn't live off of just $168.27 paychecks every two weeks; not when she had to pay a flat rate of $55 for her phone bill, and wasn't expecting to have her dad to pay it for her. She took over her own phone bill, getting herself a Boost plan when she first started working, and she intended on continuing to make it work. And then when she got the car she started paying $85 monthly for her car insurance - $140 of her paycheck automatically went to two major bills she has to pay. And then with her Netflix and hulu accounts she paid like $18 a month too, though those bills were minor, and not that important.

Marilyn was grateful to have a job in general, and she knew that to some people $168.27 every two weeks was enough for a fourteen then fifteen-year-old teenager, and soon to be sixteen-year-old, but she was intending on supporting herself while living with her dad; she wasn't planning on having him buy her everything she needed while splurging her own money on foolish things. Though it would be nice to splurge on foolish things if she wanted to. She was planning on paying for her own bathroom supplies, school supplies, and things she needed just in general or for fun – she wasn't banking on making her dad pay for all of that. And she would like to have money to spend to go out with friends every once in a while.

So why would someone bringing in only $168.27 a paycheck love such a job?

Because the tips were most definitely where it was at. In a mason jar on a bookshelf in her room was $317 that she made in just the past three days alone. In just three days she managed to make $317 in tips because she was sweet to her customers, she was always polite, she never stopped smiling, she made conversations with them, and most of the people who came in were teens – boy teens that thought she was hot and tried to impress her with good tips. She would become one of those people that survived solely on tips alone… and she liked that. She had actually made more tips than $317, but she took some money out to pay for things she needed already. At just fifteen years old, just a month away from turning sixteen, Marilyn had $7,048.73 in her bank account; $1,843.57 of that had been from her tax returns which just came in three weeks before. The $5,205.16 that had been in her bank account before the tax returns were mostly from her tips alone in the past year and three months. She managed to buy a car for $975 off of craigslist strictly because of her tips, and not because of her paychecks – she survived off of tips, and she made sure to keep them in a jar on her bookshelf every night after work until Saturday when she would run the jar to her bank to deposit it.

There were nights when she managed to bring home $250 or $300 in tips, and there had even been a few times when she managed to only bring home only $30 or $40 in tips. But tips were her blessing, and this diner didn't make their waitresses claim them because they pocketed it instead of splitting it amongst _everyone _who worked there.

The summer was the best. Because she didn't have to go to school, and she wasn't involved in any school activities, Marilyn's boss at the diner allowed her to change her schedule so that she was working from 3-10pm every Monday through Thursday while her Sunday schedule remained the same, and she still had Fridays and Saturdays off. The seven-hour shifts made a difference from the four-and-a-half-hour shifts, and Marilyn appreciated it. She had been willing to work longer hours, but her boss reminded her that she was still fifteen and needed a life outside of work. $28 daily for four days a week meant that she made $112 instead of $72, and with her $36 on Sundays, Marilyn brought in $148 weekly, which meant that once taxes were taken out of her paychecks, she brought home $279.64 every two weeks. It was over $100 from her usual paychecks, and because of this job Marilyn truly understood the struggle of waitresses and waiters living on minimum wage, and then complaining because a jackass didn't tip them anything.

But school started up again, so Marilyn dropped back down to $168.27 a paycheck, and she was counting down the days until summer started up again. As disappointed as her dad was that she was growing up too quickly, and as much as he kept insisting that it was his duty as her father to pay for her things, Marilyn knew that Charlie was proud of her – his baby girl didn't need him to support her.

"I forgot you worked here, Mari."

Giving Jacob a chastising look as she reached his booth finally, Marilyn began to pass out the menus to him and all of his friends; she noticed how they all watched her closely before glancing at the hot one she couldn't look away from earlier. "I've been working here for a little over a year, Jake. And I always managed to get food to you and Billy…"

Chuckling, he ran a hand through his short hair as he realized he'd been caught, "Alright fine, I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. I feel like I ain't seen you in months."

"Probably 'cause you haven't," she chuckled back at him. Then poking at his shoulder, Marilyn cocked a brow, "The last time I saw you, you were still scrawny and short with hair longer than mine."

"See what happens when you stop coming onto the rez," he grinned shyly, looking almost embarrassed now.

Shrugging her shoulders, Marilyn said, "You hurt Tracy's feelings, you know? She was looking forward to helping out the boys from La Push – called dibs and everything once you all walked in."

"Gotta respect the dibs," said one of the others quickly, causing Marilyn to turn her attention onto him. He looked almost boyish still despite possibly having overdosed on steroids too. His face still had a bit of baby fat that contradicted with his leanness.

Snorting loudly this time, Jacob rolled his eyes, "You shouldn't be hanging out with girls that call dibs on guys, Marilyn."

"Nobody said I hang out with her, Jacob," she cocked, looking around at all of the others now. "I'll give you guys a few minutes to look over the menus. Do you want anything to drink for now though? Other than water?"

"Coke," said one of the boys quickly, glancing nervously at the hottest one before looking back up at her, "Uhh two cokes, please."

"Sure, sure," she smirked, causing Jacob to groan loudly while some of the others all laughed. She noticed the hottest one didn't even chuckle though; he mostly just looked as if he was concentrating hard on something.

"We'll all take cokes, Mari," Jacob said, noticing his friend's mood as well.

Nodding her head at him, she started to walk away but then hesitated and placed a hand on his shoulder before quickly jerking it away and staring down at him in confusion, "Damn, Jake, you're burning up. Are you coming down with something?"

"Uhh…" scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck now, Jacob gave her a conflicted look, "I sorta just got over a fever," there were a few snickers but otherwise everyone else remained quiet.

"I swear you just burnt my hand," she said, poking at his shoulder now and wondering how come she couldn't feel it earlier when she poked him the first time. "Anyway, I was gonna say you should come over sometime. Ever since Edward got back, I barely even see my sister anymore," every single person at the booth twitched angrily and uncomfortably, but the hot one finally snapped his head up to stare at her in curiosity and something that closely resembled fear. "Maybe if you start coming around again, she'll act more like a human."

It didn't go unnoticed by Marilyn at how every single one of them tensed at her choice of words, "What do you mean she's not acting like a human?" Jacob demanded to know at once, struggling to keep his body from shaking.

"I mean she's never home anymore, she sneaks out more than I do, she's always talking to herself so that I can hear her through the walls at night, and she ignores me completely…"

Jacob frowned instantly, "What do you mean she sneaks out more than you do? You're only fifteen, Marilyn; you shouldn't be sneaking out."

"You're only six weeks older than me, ass," she chuckled, shoving him gently. When he didn't look any better though, Marilyn sighed, "It's quiet at home now. Dad's always gone 'cause of those disappearing people and murders in Seattle, Bella's always gone 'cause of the Cullens now, and when I manage to be at home 'cause I'm not at work the house is empty and it's weird. Maybe if you start coming around again, Bella will come back home."

Sighing heavily, looking almost guilty, Jacob exchanged cautious looks with all of his friends and then gave Marilyn a promising smile, "Things'll change soon, Mari. Right now your sister's kinda pissed at me 'cause I don't care for Cullen too much, and I can't understand why she took him back. I tried calling her a few times, but she's ignoring it."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she snorted, pushing a strand of hair out of her face, "I attacked him when I first saw him again, and Bella snapped at me. Since then things haven't been the same between us."

"Did he hurt you?!" the hottest one said at once, allowing Marilyn to hear his voice for the first time. His eyes were on her instantly, and Marilyn shivered as his deep voice registered in her mind for the first time.

Shaking her head quickly, feeling herself blushing because of the attention on her suddenly, Marilyn said, "No. Bella got between us before I could actually hit the prick, and he left to give us time to talk. She spent that time shouting more than talking, and now whenever I see him or any of the others they just avoid me completely. I don't care though; it's whatever. She can have them if she wants them."

Jacob looked as irritated as Marilyn felt about the entire situation, "Seriously?! After everything you've done for her after those bastards just left her alone?! You literally took care of her to keep her from falling into a deeper depression!"

Shrugging her shoulders, Marilyn said, "Yeah, but Edward said he loves her…"

"Dude, you _literally _made sure you were up on time to wake her up, brush her teeth for her, _dress _her, actually feed her with your hands, and _then_ you got yourself ready before driving to school and making sure she made it on time to all of her classes. You were always late to work by a few minutes because after school you'd rush her home and make sure she was settled in before finally coming into the diner, and then after work you'd feed her, help her with her homework, and then scrub her down in the fucking shower before staying with her until she fell asleep before working on your own things – you did that for _months_! And she's choosing that asshole over you?!"

One of his friends growled softly, "What the hell? I always knew Bella was a bitch, but what the hell?!"

"Don't call my sister a bitch!" snapped Marilyn at once, instantly getting offended for her older sister. Glaring at him in annoyance, seeing the way he instantly paled and apologized, Marilyn looked back down at Jacob, "Sorry she's ignoring you too, Jake; I guess she's just so far up Edward's ass that she forgot the people who have always been by her side since day one. Too bad he came back when he did – I was so sure she was finally gonna end up with you."

Chuckling dryly, looking immensely pissed off from everything else he just heard, Jacob barely even nodded his head, "Yeah, well it's not like I didn't try."

"Maybe it'll finally click into place for her when he leaves her alone and crying on the forest floor again," she scoffed before looking over her shoulder when the bell for the front door rang and she saw a few more people walking in. "Anyway, I'll give you guys a few minutes to look over the menu, and I'll be back with your drinks."

Because everyone in the diner had strict uniforms that they had to follow to the code, they made sure to keep it nice and warm inside on cold and rainy days; on hot days they kept it nice and cool inside for their employees and for their customers. So, despite it raining like crazy outside right now, Marilyn wasn't allowed to wear leggings or anything beneath the uniform to help keep her warm. Once she entered the diner the temperature was good enough for her and everyone else there. But once she left the diner, she'd have to pull on her jacket and run to her car.

Her legs were bare, leading up to the short dress that rested two inches beneath her thighs while wearing low ankle socks that remained hidden beneath the ankle high white nonslip shoes. The dress was loose fitting to keep her from feeling constricted, but still fit her perfectly so that her curves, hips, and chest showed thoroughly. It buttoned up the front, ending just an inch above her cleavage line, which was probably why she brought in so many tips, and there was a collar. The sleeves kind of puffed, but not a lot, and they were normal lengthened sleeves like an ordinary t-shirt. The dress was beige and grey; an odd mixture of colors but still really cute. The apron was dark grey where the dress had light grey, and it wrapped around her waist.

The pockets of her apron were wide enough to hold her cellphone, the notepad and pen for her to take down orders, the receipt book, and her tips. She kept her tips in her apron until she had enough time to run into the back and empty them out into her purse in her locker.

Marilyn was also one of those girls that enjoyed wearing makeup just for herself because she liked how she looked when wearing it, and she liked how it made her feel, plus it helped cover up a few marks. She wore makeup on the weekends, she sometimes liked to wear bright lipstick just to watch Netflix on her day offs, and she wore makeup to school. Today was a Wednesday, meaning she came into work straight from school, so she was also wearing makeup; though today she only put on eyeliner and her favorite shade of bright red lipstick. She couldn't have been bothered with hiding the marks today.

But because she was a waitress and worked with handling food, Marilyn couldn't wear the usual loose braid over her shoulder like she preferred to always do. Since her hair fell to her lower stomach, she usually just bunched it all together and wrapped it up with a rubber-band while pinning her bangs back. She would then use a headband or tie a bandana on upside down so that the ties were sticking upwards; it was cute, and it helped keep her hair out of her face at all times. Today's bandana was bright yellow.

And her nails – she was one of those girls that enjoyed spoiling herself by always getting her nails done. From when she was just fourteen and working at the bookshop, she would take herself out to the nail salon every other Friday after school; always the Friday before her payday. And she would treat herself to a manicure and pedicure, and living in Forks changed nothing. Her habits were still the same, and she still got a manicure and pedicure every Friday before her payday. Well her paydays were always every other Friday, but she didn't pick up her checks until the Saturday after her payday, so it still counted either way. She would get her nails done again this Friday, but for now they were an inch long with every nail painted a crimson red shade except for her rings fingers which had French white tips and two red stars on the tips. Her toes weren't visible, but they were also currently painted crimson red shades.

She looked like a hot mess. A fancy hot mess in a waitress's uniform.

"Your hot friend can't stop checking you out…"

Looking over her shoulder when she heard Tracy, Marilyn saw that Jacob had in fact been staring at her strangely, but he wasn't the only one – all of his friends were. It looked like they were all in a deep conversation about something, but they were all staring at her while talking. Chuckling as she turned back to the soda machine to make the six cokes for the group, Marilyn snorted, "I doubt it. I tried hitting on him a few times after me and my sister moved out here last year, but he didn't even notice it 'cause he was so strung up on Bella."

Tracy started laughing then gave Marilyn a teasing look while bumping her gently with her hips, "Well girl, I think he finally noticed you. Seriously, he has not taken his eyes off of you since you left that booth."

"Probably 'cause we were just talking about Bella," chuckled Marilyn with a shake of her head, "I'm telling you, Tracy – Jacob Black has never and will never check me out or notice me. Not that I mind. It was a phase. I was new here, and he was the only friend I had in the beginning, and he was sweet."

"And he's hot."

"Okay yeah, I thought he was hot. That was before his weird growth spurt thing though. I actually prefer him with long hair…" when Tracy only stared at her blankly, Marilyn blushed a little, "Alright fine, I still think he's hot. But seriously, I liked his long hair better."

Rolling her eyes, Tracy snorted, "Yeah okay, whatever… anyway, _I _say he's checking you out. And so are his friends."

Glancing over her shoulder once more, finding Jacob in a deep conversation with one of his friends, Marilyn found the intense way that the hottest one kept gazing at her. Shuddering slightly, and then quickly looking away and back at the sodas, she said, "The one with the grey undershirt is hot."

"They're _all _hot, Marilyn…"

"Look at his arms though. I never understood what most chicks saw in a guy's arms, but holy shit look at his…" she blushed, gesturing in the direction of Jacob's hottest friend's arms, "I bet he works out."

"You think he'd be willing to lift weights with you? Or uhh… he could probably just lift _you_…"

Laughing when Tracy gave her a perverted wiggling look with her eyebrows, Marilyn said, "Yeah, I wouldn't doubt it. I bet he'd be able to hold me up for a while with those arms…" glancing back in Jacob's direction, noticing that he looked clearly grossed out while the others were struggling not to laugh, Marilyn sighed and then looked back at what she was doing, "Seriously though, I think he's wearing that shirt purposely."

"I think you should fix your hair."

Laughing loudly, and giving Tracy an amused look, Marilyn said, "I'm working, Tracy. I can't just run to the back to fix my hair."

"And your makeup."

"What's wrong with my makeup?"

"You could use a little more."

"I'm not going to paint my face just to work," she scoffed. "Besides, he's here with Jake which means he's probably one of the guys that Bella hung out with a few times before Edward got back. And I don't think any of them like my sister too much right now, so he probably thinks I'm just as annoying as she is."

"No one is as annoying as your sister is."

"Hey!"

"I don't get it, Marilyn! You're fucking hot as hell, and right now you have a hot guy from La Push checking you out and you're checking him out. I've seen you flirt your way out of a speeding ticket from a guy who works _for _your dad, without the chief ever finding out about it; I've seen you bat your eyes at guys from other schools just to let our football team win a few games because the other players were too distracted with the girl leaning against the fence to watch the game; I've seen you flirt with the teacher's assistant to get your sister to retake a test she failed… why are you not flirting right now?!"

Smirking proudly as she thought about all her previous flirtations and wins, Marilyn ended up placing the six cokes onto her tray and gave Tracy a very serious look, "Right now he's here with a guy I have pictures of me in diapers with, and flirting will be very hazardous to _my _health if Jake decides to rat me out to my dad. And I know Jake – he would," then she clicked her tongue against her teeth, "Stop trying to make me flirt with people, Tracy."

"If you don't, I will."

"Well you should probably stop off in the bathroom first; your eyeliner looks a little smeared," sniggering to herself when Tracy immediately ran off to the break room to grab her eyeliner from her purse, Marilyn shook her head, "Idiot girl…" then taking in a deep breath she pulled up her tray and muttered to herself, "Do _not _flirt with Jake's hot friend…"

Having to stretch across the table to pass out the cokes, noticing the way two of Jacob's friends made soft growling sounds in annoyance when some guy walked past her in that exact moment, Marilyn bit back her chuckles as she righted herself up once more. Pulling her notepad out of her apron as she once again brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, knowing that she'd have to sneak away eventually to get into the bathroom and fix her hair to keep it out of her face completely, Marilyn looked down at everyone to see if they were ready to give their orders yet. Finally Jacob spoke up first.

"What time do you get off tonight?"

"Eight."

"Oh… when's your break?"

Glancing at the clock hanging up on the wall behind the counter, Marilyn saw that it was already five, "6:30."

"I didn't see your car outside," he ended up saying, looking through the menu as he spoke, "Do you need a ride?"

Chuckling, Marilyn said, "I had to park across the street 'cause it was crowded when I got in. Since when were you willing to give me a ride home after work?"

"I was always willing to," he said haughtily, giving her a look as if to say not to be a brat, "I just never had to because you always had Bella or Charlie picking you up or you'd catch the bus 'til you went out and bought your own car. If you needed a ride, and you called me, I'd have drove out here to pick you up."

"I know," she grinned, leaning against the bench's back to kind of rest against Jacob a little bit with her notepad and pen and still in her hand. She noticed how the hottest one looked a little annoyed at the move, but she ignored it and looked back down at Jacob, "I already know what you want, Jake. So, I don't understand the purpose of pretending to search through the menu."

Scowling at the others when they nodded in agreement and laughed at him, Jacob lifted his head and twisted it to look back up at her, "And what's that, Mari?"

"Double cheeseburger, no pickles anywhere near it, extra cheese, extra sauce, and crisscross fries because you like how they look," she mused with a cocked brow. When Jacob's face fell and he stared at her, she started laughing, "I swear you've been eating the same thing since I moved back out here," writing the order down, she looked around at the others, "What about you guys?"

"Uhh…" the only one with curly hair peered down at the menu then back up at her, "The only diner we mostly go to is back on the rez. What's good here?"

"My favorite is the meatball sandwich," she said at once, moving away from Jacob to lean in closer to the curly haired one to point down at it on the menu. "It's the diner's specialty, and you can pretty much do whatever you want to it. Most people just eat it like how it is, but some add in cheese and other stuff. I always add in bacon, bell peppers, and mushrooms though, and sometimes coleslaw."

"You're still gross, I see…" muttered Jacob at once.

Chuckling when the others all wrinkled their noses as well, Marilyn pulled away, "You don't have to add in anything if you don't want to."

"I'll get that," the curly haired one ended up saying, but then he quickly jerked his head up at her, "Just the meatball sandwich; I don't want the other stuff in it. And I want curly fries with that."

"Sure," she nodded, writing it down.

One of the others said, "I'll take the meatball sandwich, and I'll try it with the bacon and bell peppers, but with onions instead of mushrooms. And curly fries."

Smiling at once as she wrote down the order, Marilyn looked down at the one who just made the order sort of similar to hers, "You won't be disappointed, I promise."

"Is the spaghetti here good?" asked one of the others.

"I can have Josh make it," she nodded her head momentarily. "It depends on who the cook is working on it, and I personally only like it if Josh is the one who cooks it."

"Oh, is that the one who always makes it whenever my dad orders it?" asked Jacob. Then looking at the others, he explained, "Marilyn drove down to see us a few days after she got her car, to ask if I could check out the brakes for her 'cause it wouldn't work sometimes, and she came with food for us since she had to stop to pick up her paycheck anyways. She knows Dad likes spaghetti, so she brought him a plate of that. A week later he came down here and ordered it himself but spit it out because he said it was gross. Since then he only goes through Marilyn to get him spaghetti from here."

"Yeah," nodded Marilyn, absentmindedly playing with the strings of her apron now, "It's always Josh. The other cooks water it down or something like that, but Josh cooks it a different way, so it has flavor."

"Is Josh in right now?" asked the one who wanted spaghetti. When Marilyn nodded her head, and explained that they always worked on the same shifts mostly, he grinned, "Great, I'll take the spaghetti then."

"And I'll bring you out a basket of garlic knots instead of the garlic bread that comes with the plate, 'cause it's a lot better," she promised, writing down his order as well.

"How's the chili burger?"

Before Marilyn could answer, Jacob said, "She doesn't eat chili."

Seeing the incredulous looks they were all giving her now, Marilyn flushed a light shade of red, "We came up to visit once when I was seven, and we went over to Billy's. Rachel told me the beans were roaches, 'cause she was pissed that I got her in trouble for sneaking out with a boy the night before, and Jake thought it was funny. He ended up throwing a roach into my bowl. I got sick, and since then I don't touch chili."

"I didn't think she'd actually bite the roach in half!" Jacob cried loudly in protest when he saw the murderous look the hottest one gave him. Then chuckling nervously, he looked up at Marilyn, "But you forgive me for that, right, Mari?"

Shrugging, Marilyn spoke in a bored tone, "I got him back a week later by putting a bucket of sand filled with sand crabs in his bed while he was sleeping."

"Nice…" chuckled all of them while nodding in approval.

Looking back at the one who asked about the chili burger, seeing that he didn't look at all disgusted about the roaches, Marilyn gave him an innocent look, "Everyone who orders the chili burger never complains about it, and come back for it again. My dad likes it too."

"I'll get that then," he nodded, still looking over the menu, "Can I get cheese on my fries?"

"Sure. Do you want cheese in the burger too?"

"Nah."

"Double chili burger or just regular?"

"Double."

Seeing that only five of them ordered food now, and that the only person left to order was the hot one she had to remind herself once again to not flirt with, Marilyn turned a smile onto him while shifting all of her weight to the left side of her body. It was as if her body was against her. She saw a hot guy she wanted, and instinctively her body knew what to do to bring attention to herself. Thankfully he was too busy staring back down at the menu to notice it, but Jacob saw the instant shift in her body and attitude, and he reacted by poking at her side with an annoyed look. Slapping at his hand, and glaring down at him, Marilyn looked back at the hottest one, "What about you, hun?" seeing the way that the others struggled not to laugh while Jacob cried out, Marilyn rolled her eyes, "Oh shut up – I work in a diner, and have been for a little over a year. Hun, darling, and babe gets us our tips, and it helps when we don't know anyone's name and they're not looking at us. Plus, I mostly work with old ladies on Sundays so it sorta sticks when you hear it for over a year…"

Lifting his head instantly, as if only now realizing that she'd been talking to him and about him, the hottest one said, "Paul. My name is Paul."

"Paul?" frowning momentarily, struggling to remember where she heard his name before, Marilyn looked down at Jacob, who still didn't seem too pleased that she just called one of his friends hun, and then back up at him. "I think my sister talked about you before…"

"Maybe 'cause she bitch slapped him…" snickered the curly haired one.

When Marilyn's eyes widened at once, and the one named Paul slapped the other's head super hard, she said, "Oh that's right – she told me about that. Uhh… she thought you guys sucked Jake into a cult or something, and when she confronted you about it you got pissed and wanted to know what he told her, right?" when he slowly nodded his head, looking worried about her reaction, Marilyn blushed and gave him an apologetic look, "Sorry she bitch slapped you."

"You – you're sorry that she – Marilyn, you do know he attacked her afterwards, right?" said Jacob in a strangled voice. Paul was now scowling across at him heatedly. "_I _had to take the hit for her or else he would've punched her!"

Shrugging, Marilyn sniffed loudly, "Then she shouldn't have hit him. Way I see it is if you're man enough to hit a dude then you're man enough to get hit by a dude."

"I like her!" grinned the one sitting right next to Paul.

Then with a serious look, Marilyn said, "Just don't try to hit my sister again. Even if she is a bitch…"

Chuckling deeply, once again causing Marilyn to shiver from the sound of it as her heart raced uncontrollably, Paul gave her a promising look, "Whatever you want."

"Dammit Paul…" groaned Jacob, face-palming. Giving his friend a heated look, he said, "Just hurry up and order your damn food so Marilyn can put the order in for us."

Having to remind herself to breathe normally to keep from acting like a damn fool in front of everyone, Marilyn listened carefully as Paul ordered his food. Writing it down, she looked back down at him, "Fish burger with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, and curly fries?" he nodded his head, so she looked back down at everyone else while repeating their orders. Once it was all complete and everyone nodded their heads at her, she smiled shyly down at Paul and then turned to talk to Jacob instead, "I'll go put the orders in now."

Marilyn reached the kitchens quickly, fanning herself once she entered it, and her favorite cook gave her a worried look once he saw her, "What's wrong with you?"

"My friend Jake, the one from La Push," he nodded his head to show he remembered hearing about him before, "He's here with a few of his friends. And _damn_!"

"I heard Tracy complaining about you taking over a table she called dibs on," he laughed, reaching out for the order paper.

"Dude, you have no idea how hard it was for me to not just give him that grin of mine."

"You mean that grin that I've seen you give to a rude jerk just to score a $50 tip when all he did was order a salad and a water?" when Marilyn nodded her head, once again proud of her past accomplishments, Josh shook his head, "Oh god. I don't understand what I did to get stuck working with a fifteen-year-old girl who likes boys."

"And I don't know what I did to get stuck with a twenty-three-year-old guy who _doesn't _like boys," when Josh only laughed at her, Marilyn said, "Can you make sure you're the one who makes the spaghetti? I want it to be good."

"Sure, darling."

"And can you also throw in three baskets of the cheese sticks?" she asked him with a hopeful look in her eyes. Josh was one of the first friends she made when working here at the diner; one of the first friends she actually made while living out here. Most of the girls and guys that worked in the front of the diner only came into the kitchens to give the orders and grab the food, or to return the food, but Marilyn made it a point to come back here and introduce herself and get to know the cooks; they formed a close bond with one another. Josh usually hooked her up with free food or would pile the plates high when he knew it was for her family or for herself, and whenever his girlfriend or parents would come into the diner, Marilyn didn't charge them for everything they ordered. They always caught each other's backs. He even made sure to spit into certain orders if she asked him to, and there was that one time when a guy had been so rude to Marilyn and kept hitting on her to the point where she asked the manager Ken if she could stop serving that one table and hide out in the back until he left, so Josh came out from behind the kitchen and literally picked the guy up and threw him out of the diner. The guy threatened to the call the cops, and Josh only laughed then made it known he'd been hitting on the chief of police's fifteen-year-old daughter – that guy had never come back since then. Thank god!

Grinning, Josh nodded his head, "And since I'm in such a great mood today I'll even throw in two extra orders of fries."

"God, you're amazing!"

"I know."

Busying herself with other customers and refilling drinks while Josh worked on making all of the food for Jacob and his friends, Marilyn occasionally looked in their direction to find that they were still watching her while talking; making it obvious that they were talking about her. Because it was a large order, and Josh put in extra food for the boys and he made sure that the food actually came out good since it was for someone that Marilyn knew personally and considered a friend, it took nearly fifteen minutes until it was finished; Josh didn't allow the other cook to touch anything for that table.

"Sorry it took so long, but when it comes to family and friends, Josh makes sure to pay attention to it," she explained, rushing to their booth with two trays filled with food. Beginning to place everything down onto the table, she saw the way they looked in awe at their over filled plates and burgers, and the extra orders, "He also hooks it up for me," she chuckled softly. With all of their plates in front of each person they belonged to, Marilyn pointed at the cheese sticks, "We've got the best cheese sticks in all of Washington, so I figured you guys would like 'em. And everyone loves fries, so there ya' go."

"You know you've always been my favorite Swan, right?" moaned Jacob, taking in the food.

Snorting, Marilyn said, "I've got an older sister proving otherwise," then with a grin she said, "I'll be back with refills," she noticed they all finished their drinks already.

"Yo, Marilyn!"

Twisting her head when she heard someone call out to her just a few seconds after the bell from the door rang, Marilyn saw the quick way the six at the booth all turned their heads to look too. Seeing three boys from her grade and in a few of her classes at school, Marilyn smiled brightly and called out, "Sit anywhere guys. I'll be with you three in a minute," looking back down at Jacob and his friends, seeing the watchful way they now worriedly glanced at Paul, Marilyn said, "Cokes, right?"

"Yeah," nodded Jacob.

"Just give me a minute," she said, leaving their cups on the table to make two pitchers filled with coke instead to make it easier for herself. Returning to the table with the pitchers, refilling all of the empty cups, Marilyn saw there was enough coke left in the second pitcher to refill two more cups at least, and she ended up just leaving it on the table for the six, "Do you guys need anything else?"

"Nope, we're good," said one of the others.

"Then just call out for me if you guys need anything," she smiled, patting Jacob's shoulder once more, prepared for the heat this time. Walking across to the other booth with her three classmates, she saw them all snickering, "You three snickering is never a good thing. What the hell did you do?"

"That one annoying blonde chick in our science class came up to take our orders, so we said we'd just wait for you instead," said Matthew Jones.

"Oh god…" she groaned, struggling not to laugh as she gave them a menu each. "You see that table of guys from La Push?" when they all glanced around, and found six pairs of darkened eyes all glaring across at them, they looked back up at Marilyn then nodded their heads, "I sorta grew up with one of them before moving to Phoenix, and then over the summers when we used to come out to visit; his dad and my dad are best friends. She tried to help them earlier too, but he said they wanted me to help 'em instead. She's probably gonna give me hell the rest of the night."

"Then maybe she shouldn't be so annoying," snorted Justin White. "We almost didn't come in 'cause we didn't see your car, but then we spotted you through the window."

"I had to park across the street 'cause it was so crowded when I came in today," she laughed. "Do you guys know what you want already?"

"A banana milkshake," said Chris Ryans at once. "Since someone didn't keep up with the one she promised me if I helped her with that history paper."

"Ahh right… one promised banana milkshake coming up for my favorite history partner," she said at once, laughing and reaching out to shove him gently. "What 'bout you, Matt? You still in that milkshake phase or are you back to rootbeer floats?"

"Rootbeer float."

"With strawberry ice cream?"

"You get me, Mari…"

Chuckling, she looked down at the third guy, "How 'bout you, Justin?"

"I'll take a chocolate shake."

"Sure," she nodded, then gave them all looks, "So just drinks today, boys? Or are we gonna eat too?"

"My mom's cooking tonight…" sighed Chris.

Laughing again, drawing some attention from the other customers now, and not just Jacob and his friends, Marilyn said, "Right. No wonder why you're all here then. Chicken wings and fries?"

"Yep."

"Sure thing, love," she mused, writing the order down. Chris's mom was a horrible cook, which Marilyn once had the misfortune of learning firsthand the year before when she was assigned to work on an English assignment with Chris and went over to his house one Friday after school. Since then she learned that whenever he had friends coming over, and his mom was planning on cooking, they would stop off at the diner first for chicken wings and fries to satisfy themselves enough so they could eat just a little bit at his house without insulting her and without having to starve completely.

Bouncing between every table she was assigned to, and focusing on making sure Jacob and his friends were alright as well as the three from her school, Marilyn saw the three from her school getting ready to leave and she gave them their check. For a banana milkshake, a rootbeer float with strawberry ice cream, a chocolate shake, two orders of chicken wings, and two orders of fries for the three to share, their order should've come out to $27.50. But because Marilyn didn't charge them for their drinks, and only charged them for the food instead, their bill only came out to $16.50 instead. And because they were close enough friends for her to joke around with and to give free items to, and the boys knew she didn't charge them for their drinks because it didn't show on the bill, they gave her a $15 tip. She took off $11 from their bill, and they gave her a $15 tip; she loved it.

"Do you guys need anything else?" asked Marilyn, coming over to Jacob's table with a takeout plate of spaghetti and a box of garlic knots for Jacob to take home to Billy. She saw that they wiped out everything on the table; there was no leftover food for them to deal with.

Patting his stomach, Jacob grinned up at her, "Nope, we're good."

"This is for Billy," she said, handing him the bag with the food inside of it.

"You spoil that old man too much, Mari."

"Well seeing as how his son came out here to eat, I figure someone's gotta feed him," she chuckled. Reaching into her apron to pull out their bill, which she put together while doing the one for Justin, Chris, and Matthew, Marilyn said, "Here you go."

"Whoa," Jacob said, opening the bill and then looking up at her with wide eyes, "I know I like to pester you into hooking me up, but this is too much, Mari."

"Let me see," said one of the others. Taking the bill from Jacob, his eyes widened in surprise, "I think you got the wrong table."

Rolling her eyes, Marilyn said, "Shut up. It's all good so don't worry about it."

"Can't you get into trouble?"

"Ken loves me, and he does this too; we all do. It's one of the perks of working here, and it also depends on whether or not you're in with the cooks because they're the ones that have to cook the food. And Josh loves me too…" she assured them all when the curly one haired now grabbed at the bill. They were all passing it around to see why their friends were so shocked. Without the free cheese sticks and free fries that Josh threw in for the table, and the cokes that Marilyn also didn't charge them for at all, their bill should've come out to $59.25. With the drinks it would've been $74.25. But giving them their drinks for free, and the free cheese sticks and free fries that they didn't even order or ask for, Marilyn also made it seem as if they all ordered simple cheeseburgers with regular fries instead of all the food they actually ordered. So six regular cheeseburgers with regular fries came out to $39 instead – she gave them over half of the meal for free.

"You're crazy, Mari…" sighed Jacob, scooting his ass up a little to pull his wallet out from the back of his jeans.

Nodding in agreement, not bothering to deny it, Marilyn only grinned, "But that's why you love me."

"Sure, sure," he chuckled, pulling out two twenties to cover the bill. And then he looked around at his friends, "Make sure to do good with her tip. It's what she lives off of. She bought herself a car last summer with just her tips alone."

Already reaching into his back pocket for his own wallet, one of the others gave her an incredulous look, "Seriously?"

"I found it off of craigslist," she nodded, "But it was worth it."

"Until two weeks later when you called me for help 'cause the brakes weren't working, and you almost crashed," scoffed Jacob, reaching for his cup to finish off his drink.

"Do your breaks work now?" asked Paul at once, tossing a $10 bill into the middle of the table while the others all threw downs ones and fives, and another ten. "Jared and I work down at Quil's grandfather's car garage so if you want, you can bring your car down so we can check it out for you."

Finding herself greatly impressed that Paul was a mechanic, because it had always been a guilty pleasure of hers to admire the way guys looked when covered in car grease or when wearing a mechanic's jumper, Marilyn remembered how much fun she had when watching Jacob fix her breaks for her in just jeans and a very dirty undershirt. "I think it's good right now?" she said innocently, looking down at Jacob for confirmation.

Rolling his eyes, Jacob looked across at Paul, "When she brought it to me to fix her breaks, I checked the entire thing out for her and changed her tires and oil for her too. It's perfect right now, and isn't due for a yearly checkup 'til July."

"Yeah, what he said…" she chuckled.

Not looking completely satisfied though, Paul said, "Well if anything we could still check it out for you. Jake's good with building things, but not good enough to work in a garage."

"Hey!" when Marilyn only laughed, and Paul seemed to smile from ear to ear because she found what he said to be amusing, Jacob growled softly and muttered something beneath his breath before standing up to let the others know it was time to leave already. "Are you still off on Saturdays, Mari?"

"Yep."

"You should come down to the house," the invitation was warm and genuine, but there was something urgent in it as well, as if he had something important to discuss with her. "We can just hang out and catch up."

"Finals are starting to come up…" she said wearily, debating on what to do, "I was planning on using Saturday to catch up with studying."

"You're a sophomore," he snorted at her, "Finals aren't important 'til you're a junior or senior."

"You just wanna gossip and listen to me talk more shit about Edward, and about how I wanted my sister to end up with you instead…" she teased lightly.

Laughing joyously, and running a hand through his hair, Jacob said, "Yeah, well that too. But there's something I really need to talk to you about anyways, something kinda important," his eyes shifted momentarily in Paul's direction for a second before turning back to Marilyn, "We can gossip and talk shit about the Cullens together after."

"Sure, sure."

"Hey," he said lightly, gently shoving her with just a few fingers. It was still strong enough to make her budge though. When she only laughed at him, he gave her a hopeful look. "What do ya' say?"

"How 'bout I come out there around twelve?" she asked him. "I really do need to catch up on my studying 'cause I'm taking an AP Language class so I can't fuck that up, and I have to run a few errands too. So, I can study for like an hour or two in the morning, and then do my errands, then come out to your house. Is that cool?"

"Yeah," he nodded his head, "That sounds good. We can just order pizza or something for lunch."

"Mmkay," she nodded her head, smiling brightly; looking forward to actually not having to be alone. "I'll text you on Saturday when I start driving towards La Push then."

"Okay."

Hugging Jacob goodbye, feeling that his entire body was still too heated to be considered normal, Marilyn shyly glanced up at the others. Hugging Jacob, her forehead touched his nipples when only a few months ago they were still the same height as each other. And standing in front of his friends she could see that on every single one of them she barely even reached their shoulders. She always thought her sister was tall at five foot eight, and that she was tall at five foot seven, but now she knew how wrong she was; she was short as hell. "It was nice meeting you guys… well, sort of…"

"Oh right, I didn't even introduce you," cried out Jacob, only now realizing that all this time Marilyn didn't know who his friends were. "My bad, Mari. This is Seth Clearwater," the baby faced one, "Embry Call," the one willing to eat a meatball sandwich with bacon, bell peppers, and onions in it, "Quil Ateara IV," the curly haired one, and the one who's grandfather apparently owned a car garage, "Jared Cameron," the one closest to Paul, and the other mechanic, "And Paul Lahote," the only one who gave her his own name earlier because she said she didn't know who he was, "And as you all heard earlier, this is Marilyn Swan – Bella's little sister."

"It's so weird to think of you as a little sister when you're the same age as all of us…" chuckled Embry.

Seth shook his head, "Not me – I'm still only fourteen."

"Four – you're _fourteen_?!"

"I had an early growth spurt," he chuckled as if he had an inside joke. The others all chuckled as if they were in on it.

"Anyway, we gotta get going already. We have some phone calls to make," Jacob said worryingly, once again glancing in Paul's direction. "I'll see you on Saturday, Mari."

"Okay," she nodded, and then smiling up at the others kindly, finding that she actually liked them, she said, "Any time you guys wanna drive out to Forks to stop by and eat something after school again, I work Mondays through Thursday 'til eight," there was no point in telling them when she started because La Push High School also got out at three every day, and it was an hour drive from that high school to this diner; she would already be on the clock by the time they came in.

"Thanks!" they all said.

After a sort of awkward goodbye with the group, noticing that Paul lingered a little bit as if debating whether or not to hug her before finally being pulled out by Jacob, Marilyn shook her head and then chuckled to herself while also congratulating herself on not flirting with him. Well not flirting with him in a very big way at least. Cleaning off their table, grateful to see that for a bunch of sixteen year old boys, and one fourteen year old boy, they all had enough respect to make it easier for her by already piling their dishes on each other with their dirty napkins also tossed into the pile. Though it could have just been because Jacob threatened them to not leave behind a mess for his friend.

Her jaw also dropped. Jacob paid $40 for the $39 bill, making it known the extra dollar was left for Marilyn towards her tip. And she noticed the way that Paul threw down $10, and even Jared threw down $10; that was already a $21 tip. But it seemed like with the other three boys also throwing down money, Marilyn scored a total of $47 in tips alone from the six boys. Wanting to call Jacob to come back and grab some money because they left too much, Marilyn spotted a napkin with writing on it, and she instantly forgot about calling Jacob back.

_PAUL_

_360-555-2956_

Paul had written down his phone number on a napkin for her, and Marilyn was over the moon because of it.

With the number already stored into her phone, and the napkin in her apron, Marilyn pushed through the rest of the night when working; it seemed to be the best night yet. Making $15 in tips from her classmates, and $47 from Jacob and his friends, Marilyn went home with a total of $318.45 in her purse from tips alone – it was if this one particular night was meant to go in her favor. Such high amount of tips during a four and a half hour shift seemed more like a fantasy than reality; it was a freaking miracle. She truly did love this job.

Rushing home, taking a quick shower to wash away the stink of the diner, and also rushing through her homework, Marilyn finally jumped into her bed a little after 9:30. Reaching out for her phone, which had been plugged in from the moment she got home, Marilyn debated on whether or not to text Paul. After nearly half an hour of squealing into a pillow because the hot guy was the one to give her his number without her even having to put on the charms she usually did when trying for a number, Marilyn finally calmed down enough.

_Sent: Paul_

_Hi, this is Marilyn (: _

Feeling like dumbass after sending it, and actually throwing her phone to the side because of the stupid smiley face that she just knew would come back to haunt her soon enough, Marilyn squealed loudly again; into the bedroom this time. All she could do now was hope that Paul didn't think she was an idiot, and hope that he texted her back.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so sorry, but I forgot to put the disclaimer up in the first chapter so here it is right now…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, nor do I own any of the characters that you guys recognize! All I own is this story's plot, as well as the OCs…**

**Also another A/N: So in this story, I gave Marilyn PCOS (which is something that I have. I've been diagnosed with it just 11 years ago when I was 18, and just a few months out of high school. I know that it might seem unrealistic to a bunch of you, but a lot of the problems with the PCOS that she has in this story are real life scenarios that I've suffered through, and are still suffering through… all except for losing the weight – I managed to lose about 175lbs, but I still weigh 270lbs right now… I managed to drop down to 220lbs, but then I kept gaining it back until I hit 296lbs, but now I'm starting to slowly lose it again).**

Chapter Two

Waking up Saturday morning, to her alarm going off for her to get up already, Marilyn rolled over to grab her cellphone off of her nightstand next to her bed; it was seven. Grunting as she pushed off her covers, returning her phone to its spot on her nightstand, Marilyn's nipples instantly became erect from the cold air in her bedroom. Despite freezing the night before when she got ready to go to sleep, she still had a habit of opening her window before sleeping. And she also had a habit of sleeping topless; she was wearing literally just a short pair of yellow athletic shorts with no underwear beneath it so that she could let herself air out, while her breasts remained free from confinement.

She had slept topless from when she was still an innocent little child, and could run around the house in just a panty without her mom and sister scolding her, but as she grew older and began to develop breasts when she was just eleven years old, her mom would force her into bras and shirts. She would wear a bra in the day, sometimes walking around the house in just a bra and shorts, but at night she would throw tantrums at eleven years old because it felt like she was choking in her sleep when she wore a shirt, and bras hurt her at night. Eventually she realized she couldn't flash her breasts to everyone, and because her mom was already dating Phil, she would start to sleep with tank tops… but after a few weeks she began to cry again that it was uncomfortable.

Finally, her mom told her that she could sleep topless as long as she kept her bedroom door locked. Renee was always oversleeping, and so did the two sisters, so it usually fell to Phil to run in and wake the girls up for school in the morning. When he would go to wake up Marilyn, but see that her door was locked, he would just wake up Bella and tell her to deal with Marilyn instead – eventually Marilyn was able to wake up anytime someone knocked on her door. Eventually she no longer had to lock her door because Phil already knew not to enter her room when she was sleeping, and it wasn't as if Bella would be bothered by her sister's half nudity, but Charlie wasn't exactly used to it – Marilyn didn't want her dad to walk in on her sleeping one night or morning to check up on her, and see her naked breasts; neither of them could afford the therapy that would come afterwards.

She learned how to sleep with a panty and t-shirt eventually, when it came to sleepovers and such, but she still preferred to sleep with just a pair of short shorts and no underwear or top; it was a lot more comfortable for her.

Stretching once she climbed out of her bed, Marilyn looked around her bedroom and smiled.

Her room in Forks was smaller than her room in Phoenix, but it felt warmer… even though it was a lot colder weather wise. She loved her Forks bedroom because it felt more comfortable and more like a home than the bedroom she grew up in did – Marilyn didn't understand it, but she belonged in Washington more than she belonged in Arizona. She noticed it the moment the plane landed the year before – she was finally home where she belonged.

Her bedroom was _her _space.

Instead of a twin sized bed she had an almost queen sized one adorned with pastel rainbow colored beddings, and the nightstand next to it had a charcoal grey lamp on it with a yellow and white striped shade; her phone's charger was always plugged in and on it, as well as her iHome and iPod, and a bottle of one-a-day women's multivitamins were kept in the drawer; the fan was on the opposite side of the bed from where the nightstand was. There was a desk close to where the window was, though the window wasn't crowded other than the bright yellow curtains, and she kept her laptop and tablet on top of it with a printer beneath it. On top of the desk was a tiny little plastic dresser on top of it as well that had been filled with writing utensils, highlighters, and basic general school supplies; in a second tiny little plastic dresser she had art supplies. The bookshelf in the room's corner had been stuffed with books, even having small piles of books on top of it. There were two dressers: one a tall beige dresser with seven drawers, and a shorter wider dresser with six drawers. The tall dresser was shoved against one wall in the corner, decorated with bottles of perfumes, body sprays, and fancy smelling body lotions, while the wide dresser was against the wall with the door; it was also filled with clothes and adorned with a few framed pictures, and a few more little knickknacks. There was a small sized plastic dresser side by side with a small little rack and shoved against the wall with the closet door; the dresser was filled with makeup, hair products, and nail products, and the rack had small little dumbbell weights on them. The dumbbells varied from 2lbs all the way up to 15lbs, but went no higher, and she also had two of those shake weight things that had been popular for a while; they weighed in at 5lbs each. Lying on top of the weights was a yoga mat and a little yoga pillow, and beneath it she had things like wrist and ankle weights, resistance bands, two different types of jump ropes, and a waist trimming belt that she sometimes uses while working out. There were three stuffed animals on the moon chair in the other corner of the room; next to the bookshelf. Hanging up neatly on the walls throughout the bedroom were those canvases with inspirational quotes from Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.

The weights and the yoga mat had become such a huge part of her life in the past few years, and the first time her dad saw her unpacking the actual rack and everything with it she remembered him freaking out a little bit, but she was determined to keep up with the body she had and never allow it to go back to the way she'd been before. She was determined to remain healthy.

When Marilyn was twelve-years-old she learned she had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which basically translated into wonky periods, obesity with the difficulty to lose any weight and keep it off, lots of extra body hair because of her high testosterone levels, hyperpigmentation of her skin, and high risks of ovarian cancer when she reaches twenty-two, plus a lot of other problems. Her mom and stepdad took her to see an OB when her doctor suggested it, and the OB put Marilyn on birth control to try and help control her periods and painful cramps that would sometimes leave her immobile in the past two years since starting her period at ten, but even that didn't really help much, and it just gave her lots of facial and body acne. She tried to eat healthier like Bella did, but it didn't matter. Nothing helped.

She had been so upset at the time because she went to the doctors because of painful cramps and abnormal periods that seemed to last for two months instead of three days, and would skip for three or four months, but then she met an OB, and then had the general doctor tell her mom and stepdad, though honestly Phil was still just the boyfriend at that time, that Marilyn needed to lose weight because she was excessively obese at twelve-years-old. He gave her a dietary plan that Phil forced her to follow, and he also put her on an exercise routine. At only twelve-years-old she weighed 228lbs. Her dresses were a size 20 while her pants were a size 18 or 20 depending on the material. Her body fat was at 61%, and her BMI was at 40.74; she was severely overweight for her age and her height, and her doctor felt it would be for the best for her general health and future to begin losing weight.

Of course Renee freaked out and started shouting at the doctor that he was a quack and that he had no right to tell her twelve-year-old daughter to lose any weight, but it was Phil who stepped in at that point; it was this moment when both sisters really fell in love with the idea of him for their mom. He had only been dating Renee for about three months at this point, but hearing what the doctor said, he took it upon himself to help get Marilyn healthy since her mom made it known she wouldn't force her daughter to become sick or lose herself – if Marilyn wanted to eat and be lazy it was her choice. Phil refused to allow that to happen though. He was the one who stepped in when Marilyn's own mother backed out.

Because of the PCOS at such a young age, and for the rest of her life, it was nearly impossible to lose any weight, and manage to keep it off, but because of her fear of losing her life Marilyn refused to give up. Her doctor gave Phil a list of natural supplements to begin taking to help keep her energized and healthy, and then she began to look things up online on her own. She downloaded an app on her phone that told her how many calories to intake each day that would help her lose a pound or two a week, and then Phil bought her a scale. Because it took more than just a diet to lose weight healthily and keep it off, she started to work out too.

Because her school started at 8:15 in the morning, and she heard that waking up early and exercising on an empty stomach helped boost your metabolism as well as helping burn calories throughout the rest of the day, and that it kept you feeling better and energized for the rest of the day, Marilyn did just that. Phil already woke up every morning at five to go out for a run, and when Marilyn said she was willing to try it out too he would wake up at 4:30 and drive out to her house just to walk with her by five every morning. He willingly sacrificed an extra thirty minutes of sleep, and his usual routines just to go from running to walking so that Marilyn wouldn't have to be alone while her mom and sister stayed at home and slept.

It took her a while to stick with it, but within three months she managed to wake up at 4:45am every morning Monday-Friday, and by five o'clock she'd be out on the street with Phil and walking. In the beginning she would just walk for one mile, with Phil supporting her the entire time, but she had downloaded an app on her phone that counted her steps and timed her; it also kept track of her burnt calories. It was the same app that she used to count her calories, so it kept everything calculated for her. After returning home she'd drink a glass of water, and then take a shower. By the time she entered the kitchen, Phil would have a protein shake prepared for her breakfast, with some cut up fruits, and he even prepared her a special lunch just so she wouldn't have to eat the school's lunch. Eating healthy meant _eating healthy_, and Phil was determined to keep her on track. In the beginning she would be exhausted at school and in pain, so the supplements helped keep her awake, but in time her body became used to it. And because of her doctor's dietary plan she would drink three liters to a gallon of water a day, and at _least _four cups of green tea, so it helped with her new diet. By eight o'clock at night she'd be back outside with Phil, so she made sure to never eat anything past 6:30 just to give herself enough time to digest her food so she wouldn't cramp up or get sick during her nightly walks. At night she'd walk for two miles.

In the beginning Phil had been the main one pushing her to lose all of her weight to keep healthy, but when he started to see how serious she was about counting her calories, and how much she took to always exercising to the point that it was making her sick, he went to a personal trainer and his baseball team's doctor for advice. The personal trainer and doctor both told Marilyn that she had to give herself rest days, and cheat days, in order to keep her body from breaking down from the sudden stress she was putting through it. So, she'd only walk Mondays through Fridays, and on the weekends she'd rest and give her body a break completely. It took Marilyn twenty minutes and thirty-fifty seconds to walk just one mile, so because she did three miles a day she exercised for an hour and a minute or two a day; five hours of exercise a week. Her doctor said that it was healthy and good enough for her as long as she kept up with it, but he also warned her to stop if she felt her body was breaking. He didn't want her to push herself since the most work out her body usually got was just at school; if she was tired, he wanted her to rest.

In the beginning she would listen and rest, but listening to her body had her really only out walking three days instead of five, and soon she started to push herself; she found more progress when she did that anyways. Still following the dietary plan from her doctor, she continued to count her calories and watch what she ate. Every Friday morning, after her usual walk she would jump on a scale and weigh herself then she'd enter it into the app that logged it for her. Along with weighing herself, she measured her body as well, and learned that she was losing inches. It worked slowly, but she was pleased to see the numbers eventually dropping… no matter how slowly it took.

But as she began dropping pounds and weight, Marilyn noticed that her arms and thighs and stomach was becoming droopy and saggy; she was losing weight too quickly and her skin wasn't getting any time to adjust to it, so her skin was stretching out. Phil's personal trainer ended up suggesting that Marilyn either take a break to give her body time to adjust or she would have to start adding in some weight training to build muscle in her arms because she was losing more muscle than fat with how quickly she was losing weight. So Phil was the one who went out and bought her compression sleeves to use, wrist weights which then turned into dumbbells to begin walking with them in her hands while swinging her arms, and soon walking turned into jogging, and eventually Marilyn even began skipping some of her morning walks and jogs to spend time doing cardio in her room.

And then cardio turned into yoga, and the flexibility helped her skin tighten up even more while also burning calories and improving her stamina. It went from managing only five minutes of cardio to lasting for eight minutes until eventually Marilyn could workout for an hour with weights in her hands while the pounds on the dumbbells also increased. And for the yoga – it went from falling over when bending to eventually being able to hold the upward bow position for five minutes straight if she wanted to.

She also began to use rosehip oil mixed in with gold bond's restoration body lotion to help prevent the large amount of stretch marks she knew she would end up with, but to also help firm her skin up even more. She rubbed it all over her body after every shower, and it helped her immensely.

Soon she went from a size 20 to a size 18, then a size 16, and then a size 14. By the time she entered the eighth grade, Marilyn had lost 100lbs. Her determination pulled through greatly, and the results showed amazingly. Her body tightened up, she was healthier, she had an amazing body, and she also became extremely flexible and in shape because of it. The best part was that her mom was an eccentric mother who believed in being a free spirit and owning your own body, so when Marilyn asked to pierce her belly button as a celebration for losing all of the weight, Renee had no problem with taking her thirteen-year-old daughter to do such a thing. Bella threw the biggest tantrum, and even called their dad so that Charlie bitched out Renee, but it was already done – at only thirteen, Marilyn had a pierced navel.

And she also had a lot of respect for Phil, and admired him greatly. In the beginning her mom turned against him, but once Renee saw how happy her daughter was becoming, and how determined Marilyn was she also started to realize that it was all because of Phil; because he had the patience to help an obese twelve-year-old lose so much weight.

Three years later now, Marilyn added to her daily routines, switched things up a bit and went from wanting to lose weight to wanting to remain the same weight she was. Her Sunday cheat days no longer consisted of still counting calories while eating just one or two cookies and then feeling guilty later; she now ate anything in her sight and left her calorie counter completely blank so that it looked like she didn't eat or drink anything on Sundays in general. At fifteen-years-old now things were a lot different, and she was a lot healthier. She was also a lot happier.

She was also kind of really horrible at calorie counting. She mostly always went over it, and kind of ate everything in sight even on her non-cheat days, but she had healthy eating habits for the most part, and she also took to always working out so, it kind of balanced…

Her OB had been surprised as hell when she went in for a new prescription of her birth control since a year was up at that time, and she saw how much weight she lost since she saw her last, but since then she'd realized that Marilyn's determination helped prove PCOS wrong – she managed to lose all of that weight without any surgery or any actual medications. She took supplements, and one of them had been a fat burner, which she no longer used, but other than that it was all her; something she was extremely proud of. And then her OB and regular doctor came together in agreement that she needed to start taking vitamins since losing so much weight and calorie counting had her losing nutrients that she needed, and they were worried she would keep losing more nutrients since she made it known she was going to keep up with her new lifestyle – they put her on those one a day kids chewable multivitamins since she was still only thirteen. But when she turned fifteen, and visited her OB here in Forks they allowed her to start taking the women's multivitamins to ensure she'd get every vitamin needed since she was older. She took the pill every morning with her breakfast.

Since losing the weight, Marilyn found herself confident in a new way, and she no longer walked with her head down because she was afraid of people laughing at her two chins. Despite being only fifteen-years-old, and having to shave her face because she was the bearded lady, and the brown spots on her chest and chin and neck due to the hyperpigmentation from the PCOS, she wasn't exactly hideous – she always thought of herself as pretty.

Marilyn went from being obese and strictly just fat to becoming somewhat toned and curvy with long legs and thick thighs – she learned how to show off her body now instead of trying to hide it. Most people in society still tried to say how her new body wasn't acceptable, and that she looked overweight or too 'matured' for her age, but given with how huge she used to be before this, she often felt like dancing in the middle of the street completely naked now. Though she wouldn't. This _was _healthy, and though it might not have seemed ideal for a fifteen-year-old to have the curves or the body that Marilyn did, even though she was a month away from sixteen in this moment, she knew she wasn't the only one out there who looked like this – curves were taking over, and younger girls were becoming more conscious about their health, and for generations girls have been looking like this while getting hell for it.

Marilyn's one mile morning walks turned into four miles over time, and so did her nightly walks. She would wake up at 4:45 every morning, and then by five she would be ready to go out. She would walk for one mile as a warm up, jog for one mile, turn back and jog for one mile, then walk for the last mile as a sort of cooling down thing. Once she got back home, she'd drink a glass of water, then take a shower, and then finally eat breakfast and get ready for her day. Some mornings she worked on cardio and yoga instead; it often alternated. Since working though her nightly routines changed. Coming home at 8:30 after her shift at the diner, she would change out of her work uniform into her workout clothes and either go running for two miles or she would work on her cardio and yoga up in her room. Then she would shower, work on whatever homework she had left, and then be in bed by midnight the latest.

Marilyn wasn't a health freak that _obsessed _over being skinny, but she was determined to never reach 238lbs again or hear a doctor tell her that she needed to lose weight or else she would have health problems and potentially die; her doctor scared the hell out of her when she was only twelve years old, and PCOS was something she absolutely hated. She never bothered to scold other people around her for eating foolishly or whatever they wanted to, she didn't down someone for being obese, and she not once tried to pressure her sister or her friends into dieting or counting their own calories or going out with her in the mornings or in the afternoons; this lifestyle was forced upon her at twelve-years-old, and then she chose to continue living it.

She never tried to force someone else to be healthy if they didn't want to, and she didn't spew her health routine on them either unless someone asked her about losing weight, or for advice.

Every Friday morning, after her jog, Marilyn still continued to weigh herself and take in her measurements then log it down in her app so she would have easy access to remembering them, as well as an actual composition book, but she would also make sure to enter in her weight into her fitbit app to make sure that she knew how many calories she needed to intake a day. At fifteen years old, and five foot seven, she weighed in at 138lbs; she had 31% body fat with a BMI of 21.29, and she needed to eat anywhere between 1,700 and 1,900 calories a day just to maintain her weight. Since she was fourteen she would always fluctuate between 130-140, but she never went any lower or any higher, and this was the appropriate weight that she approved of and that her doctor assured her was healthy for her age and height, and since her body tended to be more curvy than straight and narrow. It seemed like she would stop growing, and this would be the permanent height that Marilyn would be for the rest of her life, so this was the permanent size she was alright with being for the rest of her life. Her daily calorie intake always kept her within that range, as long as she followed it and did her daily exercising.

Because she was determined to keep her weight neutral instead of losing or gaining, she had to make sure she didn't really lose any calories. So, whenever she burned off calories by working out, she always had to make sure she replenished, and ate it. So, she would have to always double her calories throughout the day, in-taking about 3,800 calories daily at minimum because she burned half of it off. Some days she had to intake over 4,000 calories because she overworked herself with a run. It was complicated, but Marilyn kept up with it and made sure to always keep her phone on her because of the app. To lose weight she needed to burn more calories than she took in, but as someone who now wanted to keep her weight maintained, Marilyn had to balance it out perfectly to keep from losing too much weight again or even to keep from gaining too much weight again. Being fit and curvy took too much work, but it was totally worth it.

Marilyn also started up on drinking a lot of green tea and black tea generally ever since she was twelve, and she made sure to drink at _least _three liters of water a day. She had a tall clear water bottle with a flip straw. The cover was black while in hot pink letters, written in a cute and girlish impact font, was a quote: _You have to get up every morning & tell yourself __***I can do this***_. Marilyn always kept the bottle with her at all times and would take it to school and work with her, and it equaled up to 34 ounces so she would make sure to fill it up at least twice more in a day, and drink a full bottle of it three times; she always drank more than three liters of water a day.

Thankfully her phone kept track of everything for her, because math had never been her strong suit; she hated numbers and sucked at it.

At fifteen-years-old she wore a 36 D sized bra, had a 33" waistline, slightly protruding abs with a v-line leading downwards, and her hips were 40". Hell, despite her constant workouts, and all the walking/jogging/running she did, her thighs were 20" thick, and constantly rubbing together. Each morning and night before going out she would rub a non-chafing deodorant on each thigh to keep them from chafing; she also had to do so whenever wearing shorts or a dress or a skirt in general. Her arms were thin, her legs were long and thick in a contradicting kind of way, and her body was very much curvy. She was afraid that if she stopped suddenly, she would continue to grow again like she'd once been, but she was also afraid to shrink into something she couldn't see herself become.

Marilyn didn't want to be overweight again, and prayed she never got as big as she used to be just two-to-three years before, but she also didn't want to be as thin as her sister was; she loved her body now… no matter how oddly shaped it was. Because of her chest she couldn't really wear small sized shirts or else her breasts wouldn't be able to breathe, but because of her waist she could sometimes fit a size 12 or 14 or 16, depending on the material, and because of her hips she wore a size 12-16 depending on materials; those were just for dresses and shirts alone. For jeans, shorts, and pants she wore a size 14, and sometimes a 12 or maybe even a 10 depending on materials; a size she couldn't remember ever being in her life before. Shopping was a bit complicated, but she admired how she looked; she looked _healthy_. She was confident in it, and she wore it well with pride. She had always been ashamed of her body when growing up, but she no longer hid herself from the world. Her shirts became tighter and cropped, showing off the pink diamond in her belly button, and her shorts became smaller and shorter.

She had hyperpigmentation marks on her chin and beneath her breasts and between her thighs, and even on her ass cheeks, she had to shave her face and her arms, her stomach was a bit hairier than most girls' were, and she had stretch marks all along her legs, stomach, hip, breasts, and arms as signs of her once obesity, but Marilyn had never been more confident of herself. She was gorgeous, she was fit, and she was hot!

Her dad definitely hated it, especially since she worked and made her own money and had her own car, and she never gave him a reason to ground or keep her from doing something, but she loved it.

Once stretching after climbing out of her bed, Marilyn quickly began to fix up her bed and room so that it was cleaner; it was already clean, but she just quickly tidied it up even more. Pulling on a plain black tank-top, and throwing her knotted long hair into a rubber-band to just get it out of her face, she left her room and entered the bathroom. "Bella, are you washing the clothes?!" she shouted, noticing that the hamper was missing… as well as the dirty towels, the workout clothes she had hanging up on the hook behind the bathroom door, and the underwear she usually kept hanging on the hooks in the shower after hand washing them after every use. Then she muttered, "Are you even home…?" after every workout she would hang her damp, drenched, sweaty clothing behind the bathroom door to keep them from getting the clothes in the hamper wet and musky and have everything start to stink up. They would always be dry by her next workout though so then she'd throw those ones into the hamper, and hang up her new damp, drenched, sweaty clothes. Hanging up on a hanger on one of the hooks behind her bedroom door were usually sweaters or jackets that she'd wear to workout in; those, she didn't bother to change out every single time.

"YEAH!" Bella shouted back from downstairs, "IT'S DONE ALREADY!"

Sitting on the toilet as she peed, leaving the bathroom door wide open because she knew her dad wasn't home, Marilyn shouted, "Did you wash my diner uniforms?" she was stunned her sister was actually home for once.

It remained silent, and Marilyn just finished wiping and pulling up her shorts when Bella entered the bathroom. "I threw the diner uniforms in with our gym uniforms," she nodded her head.

"Thanks."

Saturdays were washing days, because the school gave the sisters only two gym uniforms each; meaning they hand washed whichever one they wore that day and let it air dry in the bathroom on a hanger behind the door while using the second uniform the next day. Then that night they would hand wash that uniform and pack up the previously hand washed, and now dry, uniform in their gym bag. Their dad thought they were entertaining, because apparently everyone else would just use the same uniform for two or three days before switching it out for the new one; they thought that was disgusting. They didn't want to already enter their gym class smelling disgusting like old sweat from days before.

Thankfully she'd been given four waitressing uniforms though, so it worked out with keeping them clean before reusing them at work. She would just use a new uniform from Monday through Thursday, wash them on Saturday, and then just hand wash the one she used Sunday after work so she could reuse that one on Monday, and then go through the process again; it was a lot easier than what she had to do for her gym uniform.

Marilyn's gym bag consisted of a small pink and black backpack that held her gym uniform, and her shoes in a plastic bag to keep it from touching the clean uniform, with a pair of clean socks. She also kept an encapsulated sports bra in there so she could change out of her bra to be more comfortable; it was a legit bra meant to play sports in, and a bit more comfortable than the ordinary ones, though she owned lots of those too. She also kept a hairbrush in there, with a thing of deodorant, and a bottle of cetaphil body wash; she preferred the cetaphil one for after gym because she sweated a lot during gym and then went straight to work at the diner where she'd sweat even more. The cetaphil body wash kept her body from allowing sweat and dirt to accumulate enough to produce body acne; it also kept her feeling fresh and clean until she went home, worked out, and then took another shower. And then inside of a plastic bag she kept her waitressing uniform, and a clean pair of underwear since she always ended up just using the bra she wore throughout the school day since it was still good enough to use since she changed bras for gym. And because her job at the diner required her to use nonslip white shoes, she also kept those in her bag in a separate plastic bag. Because her gym class was the last period of the day, she would shower before going to work at the diner; giving her time to also scrub off all of her makeup and reapply just her eyeliner and lipstick with some Simple Skincare facial moisturizer so her face wouldn't feel annoying after going all day of sweating and being gross. And thankfully this school supplied the locker room with fresh and clean towels unlike her old school in Phoenix.

The bag stayed in her locker all day while in school, until lunch was over. She would always grab out her gym bag right before lunch finished, and she'd carry it with her to her homeroom, and final two classes of the day, but once school let out and she was freshly showered and dressed for work, Marilyn would run to her locker to pull out the rest of her things, and then she'd rush out to her car in the parking lot. There had been a time when Marilyn and Bella drove to school together every day, even in the very beginning when Edward would show up at the house in the mornings to pick Bella up as well as Marilyn, and then he'd drop her off at work before taking Bella home so Bella could drop off Marilyn's car to her at the diner before jumping back in with Edward, but since the Cullens returned Edward would only pick Bella up in the mornings while Marilyn took her own car. It was as if they were all strangers now… including Bella.

Her school bag consisted of a large beige leather purse that fit mostly everything inside of it that she needed for school, with only her binder and two textbooks having to be carried in her arms.

Following her sister downstairs to make herself something to eat so she could hurry up and get two hours of studying in before leaving to do her errands and then rush to Jacob's, Marilyn stopped and froze when she saw Edward sitting on the couch downstairs. He looked tense when he saw her. "Hello Marilyn."

Resisting the urge to just start yelling at him, Marilyn felt a little deflated. She had hoped that her sister being home meant they could do something together for once, since she was no longer a zombie and liked doing things again and she was also not being held a hostage by a Cullen, but clearly she'd been wrong. She had even been willing to call Jacob to cancel today if it meant getting time to see her sister again. "Edward…" she said coldly, not bothering to hide her disgust for him. Every time she saw him, she would always think back to those months when her sister was helpless and desperate and just so broken; she could never forgive him for what he did to her sister.

"Edward and I were thinking of doing something with you today, Mari," Bella said nervously, glancing between the little sister she abandoned and the boyfriend she chose. "How about we-"

"I have plans," she said bitterly, turning around to go back upstairs. If Edward was downstairs, she would be upstairs. "Have fun!"

Giving Edward a desperate look, and seeing the way he shook his head at her, Bella said, "We were actually hoping you'd be able to do something with us, Mari. You could always meet up with Jake another day, right?"

Pausing in her steps up the stairs, turning around slowly, Marilyn frowned, "How did you know I was going to meet up with Jake today?"

"Oh uhh…" biting her bottom lip nervously, knowing she'd just been caught in something, Bella began to wring her fingers together in front of her, "He told me."

"So, you finally talked to him then?" she asked with a little hope in her voice; maybe Bella was finally remembering the people who _hadn't _abandoned her and left her for dead. "He told me you've been ignoring his calls."

"Well Edward-"

"Right," snorted Marilyn, shooting Edward a nasty look before turning it back onto the sister she once thought loved her; Edward sighed heavily, "I forgot – you ice out people he doesn't like."

"Marilyn, it's not like that. There are just things happening right now that you don't understand. Look, if you want Edward can go home and it can be just you and me," there was a desperate look in Bella's eyes; a pleading hope for Marilyn to not go into La Push today. And that only pissed the fifteen-year-old off even more. "We can camp out on the couch and watch Netflix all day while ordering pizza and just-"

"I wouldn't want to cut in on your time with him," spat Marilyn icily, allowing her sister to see the betrayal in her eyes. Marilyn had been pleading with Bella to come back home and to do something with her ever since the Cullens came back, even willing to call in to work, but Bella had always been so dismissive; why did she suddenly want to spend time with her little sister now? "Who knows when the next time he runs off will be?"

"Marilyn that's not fair!" shouted Bella.

"I have to get ready to leave," snorted Marilyn, now even more pissed off. This house was _her _home, but now she felt uncomfortable in it and just wanted to be away from it as far as possible. She refused to be in this house if Edward was in it, and she didn't even want to be in here. Even if it meant losing out on her study time.

Slamming the bathroom door behind her as loudly as she could just for a dramatic flare, Marilyn made sure to lock the door because she didn't trust Edward, and then she sighed heavily. She loved the bathroom that she and her sister shared. Back in Phoenix, Bella's room had its own bathroom since she was the oldest sibling, and the master bedroom that her mom and Phil had also had its own bathroom. But they lived in a one-story house, so Marilyn used the bathroom that all of the guests used too; and Phil's teammates were always coming over, and using that bathroom. So, she wasn't allowed to do everything she wanted to do to her own bathroom, but here in Forks the house was setup differently. There were three bedrooms, and only two bathrooms totaled; Charlie's bedroom had a half bathroom with just a toilet, sink, and mirror in it, but the downstairs bathroom was used by him and the guests of the house. The upstairs was pretty much blocked off for just the two sisters – they shared the upstairs bathroom, and had their own bedrooms; it was better this way.

Bella was always spoiled with her own bathroom, but she didn't complain when her sister pretty much took over this bathroom.

The cup on the countertop, next to the bottle of mouthwash, held a green toothbrush with a yellow one. There was a cocoa butter kisses deodorant sitting next to her almay for sensitive skin deodorant, Bella's apricot face scrub, and a pink plastic five-drawer desk top dresser just pressed up against where the sink connected to the shelf with the towels. Inside of it, Marilyn had her makeups: eyeliners, mascara, eye-shadow, lipsticks and lip-glosses, liquid concealer and powdered foundation, and makeup brushes. She kept makeup in a plastic dresser in her room as well, and a smaller table top dresser filled with makeup in the bathroom because she most likely preferred to put it on in the bathroom, but there were times when she'd do it in her room as well; she also kept a small makeup bag inside of her purse; switching it out between her school purse and daily purse. There was a bottle of cetaphil face wash next to the tiny makeup dresser, along with a bottle of Simple Skincare makeup remover, a small tub of Simple Skincare face moisturizer, and bottles of aloe Vaseline and cocoa creamed body lotion. There were three little glass/plastic containers all next to each other as well, each filled with something different: cotton balls, ear swabs, and little foamy triangles to apply her liquid concealer.

In a shallow purple basket in the corner she had all tresemme hair products: gel (three different types of holds), hairspray (three different types of hold), mousse (two different types of hold), sleek and frizz free moisturizer, three different types of bottles of heat and taming spray for her flat iron, a curling spray, dry shampoo, and another type of spray to make her hair frizz free for forty-eight hours with heat if she uses that shampoo; the shampoo and conditioner were under the sink. She also had a bottle of Tresemme Split End Hair Remedy Leave-In Conditioner that she used after every hair wash.

Bella didn't use any makeup or hair products, so it was literally overrun with Marilyn's things. She kept products in her bedroom as well, for the few times she decided to just do her hair in her room since Bella liked to bitch and moan about her taking forever in the bathroom, but Marilyn mostly depended on the ones in the bathroom.

In the medicine cabinet above the sink, Marilyn kept more things: a pair of tweezers, a bottle of tea tree oil, a bottle of rosehip oil, a bottle of coconut oil, a bottle of witch hazel, and a small tube of Neosporin. There was also a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a bottle of peroxide, and a box of band-aides and gauze because Bella was constantly clumsy and getting hurt. And a can of shaving cream for Marilyn, with a razor, because she had to constantly shave her face to keep from growing a beard and mustache. And beneath the sink was a scale.

Between the toilet and the sink, next to the little trashcan, was a bronze colored three-tiered stand. On the stand, the sisters kept a box of tampons, a package of pads, a container of feminine wipes, and the extra toilet paper along with a bottle of febreeze air freshener. The only bathroom products that the two sisters liked the same brand of were the tampons and pads; they could share boxes and packages unlike when it came to their shampoos and conditioners or body washes.

The shower stall was also a testimony of how different the two sisters were, and was also overrun with mostly things belonging to Marilyn. Bella used simple things for her showers: a simple bottle of body wash from the Dollar Tree to scrub herself clean, and her raspberry scented shampoo and conditioner, also from the Dollar Tree. She liked her bottle of strawberry scented shaving cream, and her simple _one _razor.

Marilyn was a lot more complicated though. Her shower stall always played host to an assortment of odd things, which now Bella had to endure too: a second can of shaving cream, since she and Bella used different brands (she could only use the sensitive aloe vera kind), _two _gelly razors (one pink for her legs, arms, and pits, and one blue for her lady parts), body wash that smelt like mangoes and honey, body wash that had sea salt in it so she could exfoliate before shaving, body wash to make you feel like silk, a bar of cetaphil body soap for when it felt like she was about to break out or her body was against her, coconut oil for after shaving or after swimming, Tresemme shampoo and conditioner (_**four **_bottles; two to lock in moisture and two for color treatment), a bottle of her cetaphil face scrub so she could wash her face in the shower instead of having to depend only on the one at the sink, Summer's Eve Feminine Wash for the 'V,' and a pink body scrubber with a yellow rag that felt like sandpaper to also help with exfoliating both before and after shaving.

There had originally been two hooks to hang the body scrubbers on, but because Marilyn kept a lot of products to use she had a matching three-tiered stand to the one next to the toilet, inside of the shower. She also had a shower rack hanging over the shower head to hold more of her items; though all of Bella's products went on that one, with just two of her things. The hooks instead were used to hang up her hand washed panties. Thankfully Bella also took to hand washing her panties, so Marilyn didn't exactly take over that part – though Bella's pretty panties differentiated from Marilyn's usual assortment of thongs and cheekies.

After a quick shower just to wake herself up and help alleviate some of her anger, Marilyn wrapped herself up in her towel and brushed her teeth then rubbed her chin and neck to make sure it was still smooth; it was. Once her teeth were clean, she started to rub on her aloe body lotion, and then began on her usual daily face routine. Marilyn's body had a tendency to constantly dry out, which was why she took to rubbing coconut oil on her body some nights while in the shower, and sometimes even using it as a lotion, and why she would also use actual moisturizing body lotion when she didn't use the coconut oil; she had to constantly keep moisturizing her skin to keep it from drying out completely. And in her bottles of varied lotions she always dropped a few drops of her rosehip oil; even in the fancy scented bottles of lotion in her room on her dresser. Today she used the actual aloe Vaseline lotion because she didn't feel too dry this morning. But her face was also weird; she used to break out a lot since she began taking birth control to help with her periods and cramps, which was how she learned how to apply concealer and foundation perfectly, but a month after she turned fifteen she discovered something to help prevent herself from breaking out anymore, and it also kept her face clear from scars. And it also helped to lighten the hyperpigmentation scars along her chin and throat.

She would mix tea-tree oil with witch hazel in her hands, and then she'd rub it on her face and over her throat and neck like a scrub; she did this after actually scrubbing her face clean. But because she already had dry skin, and this remedy dried her out even more, she learned that adding the Simple Skincare face moisturizer would keep her moisturized without causing her to break out or making her face feel heavy and oily; it was perfect for her sensitive skin. This was a routine she did every morning after waking up when she would wash up, and again every night before going to bed.

But then she learned that the rosehip oil also worked more wonders so she would sometimes just rub a small drop or two over her face and throat and chin with her facial moisturizer. It helped fade the hyperpigmentation marks slightly as much as it helped control as much of the stretch marks as it could. She already knew that it kept her skin tightened and firmer because of her constant workouts she had been using it all those years, mixing it in with her gold bond restoration body lotion, but only in the last year she learned more benefits of it. Some nights she would rub the oil in all over her body instead of the lotion. It was mostly when she used the coconut oil in the shower to leave in the moisture, and then come out and rub down with strictly just the rosehip oil. She couldn't stick to just one constant thing all the time because her body would learn to adjust and become immune, so she would switch back and forth between the two different oils. Tea tree oil and the rosehip oil had the same benefits, with slightly different benefits at the same time, and they were miracles for her skin and body.

While allowing her face to dry up, normally because she just put wet stuff on it, Marilyn washed her hands, then poured some of the leave-in conditioner into her hands to rub it through her hair. Like her skin her hair had a tendency to sometimes dry out, and she was thirteen when she discovered that tresemme was the only brand to help keep it healthy and actually keep it from drying out like brittle. She had to occasionally switch up the shampoos and conditioners when the current one began to not have an effect on her hair, but her hair still didn't become as dry as it used to in the past. This particular leave-in conditioner was applied after every hair wash, and it helped prevent her from getting split ends while also helping her hair to keep growing. It also made her hair smell good.

With the stuff in her hair, and her face dry enough to do something with it, Marilyn skipped over the concealer and foundation; it wasn't something she wore every single day unless she was in the mood or had the time for it. She did love wearing eyeliner and lipstick every day though, even when not going anywhere; she loved to wear eyeliner and bright red lipstick while dressed in sweats with her hair tied up in a knot, and laying in bed watching Netflix all day – she loved to wear eyeliner and bright red lipstick for herself; it made her feel pretty.

Once a thin line of black eyeliner, and her bright red lipstick was applied, Marilyn retied her towel around herself, and then left the bathroom, making sure to run across the hall just in case Edward came upstairs to try and talk to her.

Once in her bedroom, closing and locking her door behind her, Marilyn hung her towel up on the back of her door, and walked over to the tall dresser; she kept her underwear things in that dresser. The very top drawer was filled with all sorts of different types of panties: thongs, g-strings, cheekies, lacy, silky, cotton period panties, spankies, boy-shorts, and bikini bottoms. The drawer right beneath that one was filled with an assortment of bras, sports bras, encapsulation sports bras, bandeau bras, and bikini tops. The third drawer was filled with ankle socks, knee-high socks, thigh-high socks, lacy stockings that she sometimes liked to use beneath shorts and jumpers, scarves, mittens, and beanies. The other three drawers were filled with simple clothing for just being comfortable; pajama shorts and pants; sweatpants; basketball shorts; tube tops; spaghetti straps; tank-tops; and a mixture of baby tees and cropped tops that were comfortable to sleep in. One drawer was designated strictly to her workout clothes only: yoga pants, open sided tank tops, under body armor, compression sleeves, and athletic shorts. It was the wide dresser that was filled with things like jean shorts, leggings, t-shirts, and more stuff like that.

Though the closet was also filled with long jeans, dresses, jackets, hoodies, cute tops that she didn't like to fold up, more leggings, and maxi skirts. On a shelf in the closet, she had things like shoes, slippers, heels, knee-high boots, and ankle boots. She loved dressing up most of the time… but other times she had been known as the girl to go to school in pajamas.

Wearing just a thong and a bra so far, she looked outside of her window and saw that it was raining outside, which was typical Washington weather, especially in April. So, she decided to pull on black and dark pink designed skinny jeans tucked into knee-high black leather boots meant for snow and rain, with a hand-knitted gray sweater that fell to her thighs over a plain white baby tee. Brushing her hair in front of the mirror hanging on her closet door, she pulled it over her right shoulder and tied it into a loose braid; she finished off her outfit with a light pink beanie. Digging through her school purse for her wallet, makeup bag, and iPod, Marilyn threw her items into the large black leather purse that she used for everything but school. Inside of her purse she already had an extra stick of deodorant, a small body spray bottle, a small tube of aloe Vaseline lotion, and a silver and black little handbag that was filled with pads, tampons, two extra panties, and a small little travel sized thing of feminine wipes. She also had a bottle of hand-sanitizer, a bottle of her multivitamins in case she ate breakfast not at home, and a hairbrush in her purse. She was always prepared for things.

Double checking to make sure she had her birth control pills in her purse, in case she was still at Jacob's house at seven, Marilyn grabbed her phone and saw that she had a new text message.

_Inbox: Paul_

_Are you still going to Jake's today?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Yeah, I'm actually about to leave my house. I'm gonna call him in a few mins to see if I can just come by earlier than I was meant to._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Why? Is something wrong? I thought you wanted to study first._

_Sent: Paul_

_I woke up & Edward's here. He & Bella are trying to get me to cancel my plans so I can do something with them instead. I can't stand him though & I don't even wanna be at home if he's here._

_Inbox: Paul_

_What did they say? Did they say anything to you?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Just to cancel my plans & do something with them. And something about things I don't understand? Idk. I'm about to leave though so I'll just talk to you later._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Ok._

It was strange, so strange, but Marilyn didn't hear back from Paul until the next morning after meeting each other for the first time. She was already in her first period class when she finally got a response from him apologizing and saying that he had to meet up with some people for something and he left his phone behind, so he didn't get her message until just then. When she first woke up that morning, she felt a little let down that Paul was an asshole or wasn't the type to call or text back, but once she got his text her entire face lit up. They texted minimally since that day, today only being the third day, but he always made sure to ask if she was going to go to Jacob's house still yet and to let her know that he would also be there. He asked her once if she liked school, which had been a little weird to her, and Thursday night he texted her while she was on her dinner break and he was on his, and then he asked her to text him when she got home because he was one of those type of people that liked to make sure his friends got home safely if it was raining and he knew they were driving.

Other than that, they didn't really talk much. But every time her phone would beep with an incoming text message, Marilyn would light up instantly hoping it was him.

Grabbing her tip jar off of her bookshelf, Marilyn was relieved that she was the type of person to keep tabs on her money so that she wouldn't have to count all of this before taking it in; the bank person would be the one to count it all. The mason jar had a little blackboard across the front of it, and written down with chalk was **$794** to let her know she currently had $794 in it right now. In a second mason jar next to it, with **$19.36 **written on it, were coins that she had been given in tips. All of those coins equaled up to $19.36 so far. Looking into her purse once more, Marilyn made sure she had her little notebook that documented her work hours, and tip amount so she could keep track of her money; she also turned that little notebook into the book where she calculated everything her money went to in general. Even if she bought a pack of gum, it was documented. In a small little photo box on her shelf next to her tip jars she kept all of her receipts too. Counting out $100 in cash to keep in her wallet, using all of her fives and rare tens to do so, Marilyn kept the rest in her tip jar to throw into her account, and then changed the amount on the front of it. At this point the bank tellers were used to her, and loved it when she came in with her jar filled with ones, fives, rare tens, and even rarer twenties; they all loved how neatly she kept it and how she had it labeled. It was always nice to have cash on you in general for quick emergencies were only cash is accepted, but Marilyn mostly used her debit card because it was easier for everything, and she had her bank's app on her phone so it was also constantly documented for her on her phone as well instead of only being handwritten into a little notebook.

With her jar in her purse, and making sure to grab all of her schoolbooks and her school purse, Marilyn grabbed her lanyard with all of her keys on it and began to walk downstairs to leave while texting Jacob.

_Sent: Jake_

_Hey so I'm leaving my house to do my errands now. Is it cool if I stop by earlier than we planned?_

"Can't you just hang out with Jake another day?" questioned Bella; she looked a little distraught as if her little sister leaving the house right now was the worst thing in the world.

Glancing at where Edward was still sitting on the couch, looking as if he hadn't moved since she first saw him that morning, Marilyn said, "I don't know when I'll be home. Thank you for washing my clothes. You can just toss them on my bed when they're done, and I'll fold them later."

Sighing, looking defeated, Bella ended up nodding her head, "Fine."

"Thanks."

Marilyn was already at the door, with one foot stepping out when her sister called out, "Mari!" she looked over her shoulder, and Bella looked really afraid about something; her fingers were twisting in with each other as if she were going through an anxiety attack. "I just – you know that I love you, right? I mean… I know we never say it, but you know that it's true, don't you? I do love you, Marilyn. I just – I just want you to know that."

Stunned at her sister's words because she didn't know what urged Bella to say this suddenly and so out of the blue, Marilyn only stared across at her, "What's wrong, Bella?"

"I don't want you to go to Jake's today."

"Why?"

"Because there are things happening that you're not ready to understand yet – that _I _don't want you to understand yet. You're my little sister and I'm supposed to protect you."

Seeing Marilyn's confusion, Edward reached out and took Bella's hands into his; preventing her from acting on her anxiety, and only causing Marilyn's hatred for him to grow. When Bella got like this you were supposed to just calmly let her ride it out because when you stopped her from fidgeting it only worsened for her until soon enough, she would begin breathing heavily. Edward's hands instantly pulled away, as if he heard what Marilyn had just been thinking, "You can't prevent this, Bella," then he gave the younger girl a conflicted girl, "I'm sorry, Marilyn."

"My thoughts about you don't matter," she said harshly, then looked back at her sister, "If you're not home by the time I get back I'll just see you in school on Monday," because although today was Saturday she already knew she wouldn't see her sister on Sunday – it was a miracle that Bella was even at home today.

Running out to her car, so glad that she could just press the beep beep button on her key ring to unlock it instead of having to stand there and unlock it from the door itself like you had to do with Bella's truck, Marilyn jumped in quickly and shut the door while dropping everything onto her passenger seat, and putting her water bottle into the cup holder. The car, much like Bella's truck, was old. It was a 1998 Honda civic, with the black paintjob almost rusted down so that people could look at this car and just instantly know it was old school. It had dual bucket front seats with a simple bench seat in the back, and the interior was all grey. The guy who had sold the car to Marilyn changed the locks on the door to make it lock and unlock from the key with the beep beep, also giving it an alarm, and he also changed out the original deck by installing a deck with an aux cord for Marilyn to connect her phone or iPod into so she could listen to her own type of music instead of just the radio if she wanted to; it came with the car. Though the outside was rusted the inside of the car was a beauty, and you wouldn't be able to tell it was twenty-years-old. It had been extremely well taken cared of, and Marilyn was determined to also take extremely good care of it – her very first car that she owned and bought on her own, and paid for on her own. Jacob may have fixed the breaks, and oil, and whatever else he told Paul he did to it, but it was all Marilyn.

The two front seats had been covered with light pink and dark grey striped seat covers while the backseat had been covered with a solid light pink seat cover; all of the car's seatbelts also had solid dark pink covers on them. The steering wheel had a pink and silver dotted wheel cover on it, while the dashboard was covered with a dark pink cover. And inside of the dashboard Marilyn had it set up perfectly. A makeup bag filled with everything the makeup bag in her purse was filled with, toothpaste and a toothbrush thrown into a ziplock bag, a bottle of mouthwash, deodorant, a shaving razor, lotion, a hairbrush, rubber bands, two headbands, hand sanitizer, and bottles of midol and ibuprofen were all placed into the dashboard. She also had all of her car's papers folded neatly in a little tiny pink translucent folder thing that she kept in the dashboard as well. And in the dashboard, she also kept a simple little white wallet with $50 of emergency cash in it. In the middle compartment thing between the two front seats she had kept an extra wall port to charge her phone if she was at someone's house and needed to charge it, her phone charger, ipod charger, a small little notebook with a pen, and baby wipes. There was also a flashlight with extra batteries, and a taser because her dad was paranoid. Over the back part of the car was a dark pink back dashboard cover with a neatly folded blanket in case she ever decided to take nap in her car or if someone was riding with her and was freezing. Beneath the passenger's seat was a cute little yellow compact umbrella with little black bowed designs all around it.

In the trunk of her car she had a rainbow colored tote bag filled with three cute panties, a full package of period panties from Walmart, one regular bra, one bandeau, one strapless bra, one sports bra, a bikini set, one pair of long jeans, one pair of jean shorts, one sleeping shorts, one sweatpants, one pair of short jeans, three different types of shirts, a maxi dress, a maxi skirt, a short strapless beach dress, a cute top, a jacket, a sweater, and two pairs of socks. She also had a pair of jogging shoes, a pair of heels, a pair of boots, and a pair of slippers in another plain yellow tote bag. Then in a clueless quotes tote bag she had a bottle of shampoo and conditioner, a bottle of cetaphil body wash, a bottle of honey and mango scented body wash, a shaving razor with a can of shaving cream, baby powder, facial moisturizer, and her face wash, with even a washcloth and a towel. And then there was a box of tampons, a package of pads, a package with four toilet papers in it, and a hot pink toolbox filled with things that her dad felt she should own and have in her vehicle at all times: jumper cables, a jack, coolant, tools, a leatherman wave multi-tool with seventeen different tools as if the others weren't enough, a pressure gauge, duct tape, wd-40, a book of matches, and whatever else was used for cars in case she ever got stranded; she also had three flares in the trunk of her car, a candle in a can in case she got stranded in winter, a first-aid kit, and a case of water bottles. Some of the items couldn't fit inside of the toolbox though, so Marilyn had them neatly placed in a bright red tote bag next to it. Her car's trunk had been filled with so many things for her own necessity and possible survival, but she kept them all neat and clean looking, and she was still able to shop while putting all of her grocery bags into the trunk instead of having to depend on her backseat only. And then in a plain white tote bag she even had a bunch of other tote bags from Walmart and Target (from her few trips to Port Angeles) inside of it so she'd always have bags for shopping trips to such places.

There was no point in keeping her work uniform in her car instead of her gym bag at school though since she showered after gym and got dressed for work in the locker rooms… though once school got out she'd have no problem keeping her uniform in her trunk. Her plan was to spend as much time at the beach during the summer, taking a shower at the beach, and then rushing to work with sand still in her hair and her body golden from the sun. Of course, she could always rush from the beach to Jacob's house and take a shower there and actually wash the sand out of her hair, but that would mean less time at the beach and that wasn't something she was exactly looking forward to.

She loved her car. Her car was her baby; it was prepared for almost every type of situation. Starting it up to let it warm up before driving off, Marilyn dug through her purse and pulled out her iPod to plug it in already. She also opened the middle compartment to pull out her charger so she could charge the iPod while playing it because she hadn't charged it in a while, and it looked about ready to turn off on her. While getting everything settled to begin driving, and double checking that she made sure to grab everything she needed, Marilyn saw that Jacob texted her back.

_Inbox: Jake_

_Yeah sure of course. Is everything okay?_

_Sent: Jake_

_Bella & Edward are here & they're both weird as hell. I just don't like being around him in general so I left to get away from him._

_Inbox: Jake_

_Weird how?_

_Sent: Jake_

_They don't want me to leave. They wanted me to cancel hanging out with you today just so I could do something with them._

_Inbox: Jake_

_What the hell?!_

_Sent: Jake_

_I don't even know. And then she reminded me she loves me & he apologized…_

_Inbox: Jake_

_Did they say anything else?_

_Sent: Jake_

_Something about Bella not being ready for me to understand what's happening yet. Something about her being the older sister & supposed to be protecting me? idk. I left though._

_Inbox: Jake_

_I'll just talk to you when you get here. Text me when you start driving towards La Push._

_Sent: Jake_

_Sure sure (:_

_Inbox: Jake_

_Don't push it, Marilyn._

Adjusting her rearview mirror, taking in a deep breath, Marilyn glanced up at the house and then began to pull out of the driveway. She saw her sister watching her from the living room window.

The Swan sisters had always been as different as different could be. Her sister was known for being paler than alabaster, despite growing up in a place with more sun than clouds and rain, with dark brown eyes and light brown hair to her shoulder blades, and tall and lanky. But Marilyn was the opposite, she had always been the opposite of her sister; whereas Bella was known as plain and ordinary, Marilyn was called flashy.

She was naturally pale too, but she looked a bit more golden, as if she spent all of her time in the sun without any protection; which she sort of did. Her shaped brows were constantly getting plucked, but she kept them sort of thick more than thin because she didn't like drawing on it with a pencil; she liked having her own brows. Her hair was meant to be an even lighter brown than Bella's, but she took to constantly dying it every few months when she could; it was currently dyed a dark scarlet shade… she liked this color. And she usually kept her hair longer than her sister's; it currently fell to her lower stomach. Every once in a while though, Marilyn would tie her hair back into a low ponytail and then cut it right above the rubber band to make her hair shorter so that it fell to her shoulders; it always grew back quickly. Her lashes were always longer than Bella's, and seemed to curl upwards into her brows; long and thin. And whereas Marilyn worked hard to become curvy, Bella was always naturally thin.

But despite looking completely different, and also acting completely different, the two sisters had always been inseparable; they were the best friends they could ever have for one another. And then Edward Cullen got into the picture, and it all went to shit.

Rushing into the diner to pick up her paycheck, and then rushing into the bank since they opened at eight and closed at twelve on Saturdays, Marilyn decided to just do her errands later. Other than getting to the bank her only errands for today were to stop at the store to pick up a few things. Bella quit her job down at Mike Newton's parents' store, so Marilyn was the one who constantly made sure that the bathroom never ran out of pads and tampons. She had birth control pills to tell her when she would start her period, and she was a week away from it, and she also had her period app on her phone, but she also knew her sister's schedule at this point, and Bella always had ended her period the day before Marilyn started. Neither of them restocked the bathroom since Marilyn ended her period the month before, and what was in the car was meant strictly for the car only just in case she needed one, and she didn't have any on her, so she had to stop at the store to pick up at least enough for Bella to use in this week before buying more for herself.

She also needed more shaving cream and razors, and she noticed that Bella was running out of her shampoo and conditioner. She was pissed with her sister, and hurt by her, but Marilyn wasn't petty enough to stop loving her or caring about her. She also knew that Bella loved mint chip ice cream when on her period, and salty snacks, so she needed to pick some of those up as well. Plus, she also needed more tea because she just finished the box the other night, and she needed more coconut oil to cook with and to also lotion herself with. There was just no point in going shopping before getting to Jacob's house because the ice cream would melt, and she didn't want to keep everything in the car for too long.

Texting Jacob that she was on her way already since she realized her errands included grocery shopping too, letting him also know that she only ran to the bank, Marilyn drove through McDonalds to pick up something to eat since she was still hungry since she got stopped when she was walking downstairs to make herself breakfast.

By the time she reached Jacob's house the rain had finally stopped, Marilyn finished her breakfast, and felt extremely nervous. The closer she got to the house the stronger her nerves grew, and as she parked her car she could hear her sister pleading with her to not come here today. Something about her not being ready to understand what was happening yet… She spotted Billy's truck in the yard, but she also saw a jeep and another truck here.

Not bothering to knock on the door, because she never had before and they weren't the type to knock when coming over to her house either, Marilyn opened it and stepped inside, "Billy! Jacob!"

"We're in the kitchen!" Billy called out loudly.

Not having bothered to bring all of her things out of the car yet, other than her keys, phone, and water bottle, Marilyn saw that everyone from the diner was over Jacob's house. There was also a seventh person with a muscular built and the tribal tattoo on his shoulder; this one she instantly recognized though. "Sam!" she cried out ecstatically, running over to hug him tightly. He had been the one that found her older sister that night in the forest when the Cullens disappeared; cold and near death because of the weather and how long she had been in there for. Rangers, cops, hunters; nobody could find Bella. But then Sam Uley walked in shirtless, and barefooted, and half an hour later he came walking out with Bella curled up in his arms and shivering from the cold and sleeping fitfully.

Laughing loudly at the girl's enthusiasm when she saw him, allowing her to collide into him and hugging her back gently, Sam looked down at her with kind eyes, "You're looking better than when I saw you last, Marilyn," they ran into each other only three times since he saved Bella's life, but Marilyn forever loved him – she owed him everything.

"Yeah well my sister's an idiot, but she's not dead anymore or a zombie," she chuckled. Once again it didn't go unnoticed by her how everyone tensed at her choice of words. Pulling away from Sam now, walking across to kiss Billy's cheek hello, she waved at the others shyly, "Hi guys."

"Hey Marilyn," grinned Seth eagerly, waving at her as if they've met more than just the once.

"I hope it's okay I came here earlier than planned," she said looking around at everyone, and noticing that it looked like she interrupted something important. She was meant to come here at twelve, but it was only nine.

"Of course, Mari," nodded Billy, looking up at Sam from his wheelchair. "Should we take this over into the living room then?"

"Yeah sure, Billy," nodded Sam; his voice was just as deep as Marilyn remembered it to be, but she found herself in more awe of how deep Paul's voice was instead. "Why don't we go out into the living room, Marilyn?"

Nodding in agreement, looking around at everyone in confusion, Marilyn said, "Am I in trouble? 'Cause I don't know what I did wrong…"

Chuckling, though it sounded drier than anything, Jacob shook his head, "Nah, of course you're not in trouble, Mari. We just need to talk to you about something. First it was just gonna be me and Dad, but then he decided to ask Sam for help this morning. The others are just here 'cause they're nosy."

"Jacob…"

Rolling his eyes when he heard the warning tone in Sam's voice, Jacob said, "Okay fine, I guess Paul has a legit reason to be here too…"

Hearing Paul's name, and looking over her shoulder to find him staring at her nervously, Marilyn noticed that he was completely shirtless this morning. They all were. But the other bodies didn't stick out for her in the same sense that Paul's did. He was built physically nice with arms that had her biting her lip to keep from thinking naughty thoughts about being wrapped up in them, and he had abs that she thought only existed in the Roman days; it seemed impossible for his body to exist and be right in front of her. The others were all cut nicely too, but she found Paul's body to be the best.

"I would appreciate it if you all put shirts on when in my house!" Billy said loudly with a clearing noise of his throat, causing Marilyn to quickly turn bright red and glare down at him; he didn't have to make it _that _obvious he caught her staring a little too hard. Glaring back up at her for only a second while the boys, and Sam, all groaned loudly about having to suffer just because a girl was in the house now, Billy's expression quickly softened and he said, "Do you still drink tea when nervous about something, Mari? We have some chamomile tea because it helps me to sleep at night. Jared, can you heat up some water?"

"Sure, Billy," jumping up at once, Jared jogged back into the kitchen they just left.

"Why would I be nervous?" Marilyn asked worriedly, biting her bottom lip as she did so. "Why do I need tea? Why is Jared making me tea?" sitting down on the couch, pulling off her beanie and leaving it in her lap, Marilyn started to bring her legs up onto the couch to cross them but then groaned loudly and jumped off. Running across to the front door she started to unzip her boots to get them off of her. "What's going on, Billy?"

Paul seemed to be nervous about something too, though he seemed a lot more fidgety than she was; it seemed like he was shaking. After a few more seconds he couldn't seem to take it anymore, and he jumped up, "I'm gonna head out now, Sam."

Nodding his head, Sam licked his lips, "You sure you don't wanna stay?" it seemed almost expected for Paul to leave, even though Jacob made it known just a minute ago that Paul had a legit reason to stick around while they all spoke today.

Glancing down at Marilyn, seeming to take in the nervous way she was now chewing on her bottom lip and fidgeting with the hemline of her sweater while settling back down onto the couch between Embry and Jacob, Paul looked back at Sam and nodded his head, "Yeah, I don't wanna chance losing it."

Marilyn had no idea what he was talking about, but it seemed to have Sam frowning, "I didn't know how to control it back then, Paul," he sighed, "I didn't have the breathing techniques that you guys have now, and Emily didn't know that mentioning my father would have that effect on me. You won't lose it like how I did that night."

"I still don't wanna chance it," he said sternly, glancing down at Marilyn once more before nodding his head stiffly as if making his final decision. "Just call me after."

Sighing, Sam looked almost slightly disappointed, "Yeah, sure."

Looking back down at Marilyn, Paul gave her a hopeful look, "I'll uhh… I'll see you soon."

"Sure," she nodded, smiling shyly up at him. For some reason the thought of him leaving had her stomach twisting; she only just saw him again for the second time. Did he really have to leave so quickly? "I'll text you later."

Smiling eagerly, as if her words just brightened up his entire day, Paul patted the front pocket of his cutoffs as if to show her where his phone was, "Okay."

"I still can't believe I didn't notice when that jackass slipped her his number…" muttered Jacob, glaring over his shoulder at where Paul literally just ran out of the house.

Handing a mug filled with hot tea to Marilyn as he reentered the living room, Jared snorted, "It's Paul. What else did you expect?"

Looking up at Jared in confusion, Marilyn said, "Huh?"

Tensing when he realized that he muttered loudly enough for her to hear him, Jared began to rub the back of his neck with an apologetic look on his face, "Uhh… need any sugar?"

Staring up at him suspiciously, trying to make sense of what he just muttered, Marilyn ended up shaking her head, "No thanks," looking over at Billy, finding him watching her closely as if waiting to see some type of reaction from her, Marilyn said, "Why am I drinking tea, Billy?" she noticed the others were all watching her closely too.

Billy remained quiet, only watching her closely. "Umm, I'm not exactly sure how to explain all of this," Jared said timidly, giving her a nervous look as he finally sat down across from her. "Anyone else got a clue?" he asked the others.

They all shook their heads, and it was Quil who looked across at where Sam was sitting on the recliner. There was only a single couch and a single recliner in the small living room, and with how bulky all of the boys were only Jacob and Embry could fit on the couch with Marilyn while Sam sat on the recliner, and Jared, Quil, and Seth all sat on the floor facing her. Billy remained in his wheelchair next to Sam so he could continue to watch her quietly. "What about you, Sam? You had to explain it to Emily before."

"I didn't so much explain it to her as having had an outburst and then making her figure it out on her own from the hospital bed," hissed Sam, rubbing the back of his neck guiltily.

"What are you guys talking about?" Marilyn asked, taking a small sip from her cup; the teabag was still hanging in it but it still tasted a bit weak. Her stomach was twisted in knots, and her sister's words were loudly ringing her mind right now. Everything had been weird since the Cullens got back, the boys had their little weird inside jokes and constant moments of tensing or flinching when she said certain words, and Bella kept trying to keep her from coming here because she didn't want her to understand anything yet – Marilyn had a strong feeling she was about to be let in on something big.

"Marilyn, do you remember the legends of my tribe?" questioned Billy, giving her a hopeful look as he _finally _spoke. "Do you remember those summers when you and your sister used to come to visit your dad, and he would let you guys stay with us some nights, and one night you came down to the bonfire with me and Rachel? Bella stayed back with Rebecca and Jacob because they were both sick, and Rebecca was watching them for me?"

Squinting her eyes as she tried to remember going to a bonfire filled with Quileute Tribe legends, Marilyn vaguely remembered hearing a few stories. She mostly remembered playing with the other little kids though. "I-I was eight, wasn't I? That was the last time that Bella and I came up here."

Billy nodded his head, "Yes."

"I remember you having to go at the front of the fire because you and one of your friends, umm… Old Quil were the ones telling the legends. With another guy?"

"Harry Clearwater," he chuckled.

She nodded, "Yeah, him," then she looked down at Seth, "Oh, your dad…" Seth nodded his head, and Marilyn gave him an apologetic look. Her dad was friends with the dads of all of these boys, and she had never met any of them before today or got to know them. But she knew that Seth's dad had recently just died from a heart attack the month before, and yet when she just met Seth a few nights ago at the diner it didn't even click into place for her; he looked okay at least… not like someone whose dad just died a month ago. Turning back to Billy, she continued, "And Rachel left me alone with one of Jake's friends and his mom so she could sit with her friends. I think his name was Embry?" and then she gasped, "Oh that was you!" she turned to the boy she was sitting next to.

This time Embry's eyes widened in unison with hers, "Oh, right. I forgot you were there that night – I ended up bringing you over to sit with all of us."

Marilyn stared blankly at Embry for a few seconds, and then she was rushed with names as she looked around at everyone else, "Embry, Quil, Jared, and Paul…" she said slowly. "Right… I met you guys before," how the hell could she forget meeting the others before Wednesday night at the diner? It's not as if Embry and Quil were common names.

Chuckling, Billy said, "Try to remember the stories we told that night, Marilyn. Think really hard."

"I just remember Paul," now it seemed so silly to her that she forgot meeting him before; he made such an impact on her that night… "Trying to make me laugh because he knew I was nervous since I didn't know anybody there other than you and Rachel. He kept getting down on all fours and running around while pretending he was a wolf. I think it was Quil who joined in with him, and then… was it you," she looked at Jared, "That started to pretend you were a vampire? I think you were trying to bite me, and Paul and Quil jumped in to save me?"

Throwing his head back to laugh at the memory, Jared nodded his head, "Yep, that was me. Hell, I forgot about that night."

"Holy shit, I always wondered what happened to that chick from that night," mused Quil, "I didn't realize that was you, Marilyn."

Billy chuckled in amusement, "How ironic…" when the others started to snicker as if they knew something that Marilyn didn't, Marilyn gave Billy a confused look. The elder sighed, and rubbed his forehead, "The stories I told that night consisted of our tribe's legends about shape-shifters and cold ones."

"Werewolves and vampires?" she asked unsurely, vaguely remembering something about that; it was why Jacob's friends all started trying to make her laugh in the first place with their weird little games. "Umm… one of the old chiefs of the tribe was murdered, wasn't he? And the guy that murdered him took over the tribe, and the old chief's spirit possessed a wolf to kill him?"

Jared looked slightly offended, "There was a lot more to it than that."

"Sorry…" she muttered, looking back down at her cup now. Billy started to explain in detail what happened in the legend, but she looked up at Sam instead, "What do the legends about shape-shifters and cold ones have to do with me drinking tea, and Paul apparently afraid of losing his cool and taking off once we came in here to talk?"

She wished she didn't ask.

Taking in a deep breath, feeling everyone's eyes on her tightly, Marilyn stared down into her cup; it was completely empty. She held it in both hands, rolling it from palm to palm to help calm her nerves as she leaned onto her crossed legs. She took in everything that everyone told her, jumping from person to person at certain parts to explain their stories and their sides and their experiences, and she chewed on her bottom lip so much that she already knew her bright red lipstick had disappeared from sight. She tried to dissect everything they told her, but that only gave her a headache instead. Finally, she looked up at Jared with curious eyes, having learned that he was Paul's absolute best friend out of this entire group… pack… "Is it charcoal grey and silver – him, I mean?" she sighed, "Paul, I mean – is he charcoal grey and silver? Well, when a – when he's a – umm…" she trailed off lamely; she didn't know how to finish the question.

Looking stunned, and widening his eyes in surprise, Jared ended up frowning in confusion, "Sam told him to stay away from your house Wednesday night after we told him what happened; he shouldn't have been able to break the order…"

"Maybe an imprint's bond is stronger than an alpha's?" questioned Sam, also frowning in confusion. "We wouldn't know already because I'm the alpha, and Emily's the only imprint there's been so far until now."

Realizing that everyone thought she'd seen Paul already, Marilyn shook her head, "No, he wasn't there," she frowned though, "Well, I don't know. That's really creepy if he was," then again they all told her how Sam had been with that Emily chick – he turned into a stalker in the beginning because the imprint was so strong. Is that what Paul would do too? Jared already admitted that Paul left because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to control his anger in case she made a comment or asked a question he didn't like, and he didn't want to accidentally phase in and hurt her the way that Sam hurt Emily; Emily almost died that night. He was already afraid of almost killing her – would he become a stalker instead? It was also enough to make Marilyn look at Sam in a different way now.

"Then how would you know what he looked like?" Seth asked in confusion.

Sighing, and also blushing, Marilyn looked at him in embarrassment, "I dreamt of it that first night after the diner when I met you guys. I always have weird dreams though, so I didn't think too much of it. But with you all telling me all of this, I realized it might be because of that."

"It's possible," Billy nodded, seemingly impressed. "I remember Emily telling us once that she kept dreaming of a giant black wolf too. I think she still dreams of it actually."

"Yeah," Sam nodded his head, though he looked more thoughtful than impressed, "She told me that since the others all joined the pack, she dreams of their wolves too sometimes. They've seen the conversations in my mind a few times when phased in," that must be so annoying after a while – to never have your own thoughts or the freedom of your own mind because of the pack's mind link thing. "So, you dreamt of Paul's wolf that night then?" he ended up asking Marilyn, looking back at her.

Nodding her head, Marilyn shyly admitted more, "Of seven actually. I was in a large and empty field, and I was just lying down on a blanket under a tree; it looked like I was trying to do my homework or something like that. There were seven giant wolves about seven or eight feet tall, and they were all sorta just running around and wrestling. Every so often the charcoal grey and silver one would look over at me, then jog over to me to check up on me. I wasn't afraid though, I would always just laugh and pet him while telling him that I was alright, then I'd tell him to get back to the others already. It was weird."

Laughing, Jacob nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that is weird. But yeah, that was Paul's wolf. I'm the russet colored one," he said proudly, wanting her to know which wolf he was the next she dreams of them.

"Did you feel anything for him that first night when he looked into your eyes?" asked Sam curiously, trying to discern as much information as he could about the second imprinted couple he knows.

"I could hear the way your heartbeat accelerated, and you looked sort of confused and lost for a moment before you finally looked away," offered up Quil innocently, "So I think that maybe you felt the tug of the imprint… your soul recognized what was happening, and it was preparing you for this."

Blushing because she now knew that the six who had been in the diner that night, including Paul, could sense her reaction to him that night, and also because Quil was talking about it in front of her dad's best friend, Marilyn ended up gasping loudly, "Wait a minute – you said you guys have excellent hearing!"

Laughing loudly, tossing his head back to do so, Jacob gave her a teasing look, "Oh, are you asking if we heard how you used to have a thing for me and used to flirt with me without me realizing it, or how we heard you having to constantly mutter to yourself to _not _flirt with my hot friend?"

Groaning loudly, dropping her face into her hands and her empty mug, Marilyn said, "I hate you guys – every single one of you."

"Maybe she's embarrassed because we also heard how she's so good at flirting that she managed to get a teacher's assistant to let her sister retake a test, and that she got out of a speeding-"

"HEY!" snapping her head up at once, flinging the mug at Jared's face to shut him up because he was now ratting her out in front of her dad's best friend, Marilyn glared hotly when she saw how he only managed to catch the mug with the quick reflexes they also told her about. "Shut up!"

"Wait, who's flirting with who?" asked Billy. He looked aggravated and lost and confused.

"Nobody's flirting with anybody Billy," sighed Sam, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then he gave Jared a warning look, "Stop picking on her, Jared," Marilyn could see that he was struggling not to laugh at her right now like how the others were all chuckling and snickering; he knew what was said that night in the diner because they all allowed him to see it in their heads. "Yes, Marilyn, our hearing is excellent. We can hear up to a hundred feet away, two-hundred if it involves our imprints."

"Great…" she muttered, stretching out her legs now, and untying her braid to run her fingers through her hair, "So Paul will be able to hear me from two-hundred feet away…" and then she shivered. She was the soul mate to a shape-shifting werewolf.

"Do you have any questions, Marilyn?" sighed Billy, giving her a worried look. "Any questions that we can answer? We told you everything that we know about the pack and the legends, but do you have any questions."

Searching through her mind, and finding thousands of questions all screaming at her, she looked back up at Sam, "You said that you waited three months before finally telling Emily the truth, despite dumping her cousin for her?"

"My sister," Seth said loudly, reminding everyone of that fact, "He left my sister for our cousin."

Ignoring Seth, Sam nodded his head, "Yes."

"So why are you guys telling me about this today; just three days after meeting me?" and then she looked thoughtfully at Jacob, "Well you guys planned it that night, didn't you? You told me that night when you guys were leaving that you had to talk to me about something important."

"He's only the second person to imprint," admitted Jacob with a nod of his head. "And because I know you personally, and we're friends, I didn't want another Sam and Emily situation; I wanted it out in the open already. And Paul agreed with me. Well they all did," he gestured to the others that had also been in the diner that night, and they all nodded their heads in agreement.

"There are only the two of us right now," explained Sam, not looking bothered at all at Jacob's excuse, "And the only other actual account of imprinting we have to go on is myself and Emily; the legends don't talk about the soul bonding as much as it talks about the cold ones and the gene, and the vow to protect our tribe and our people. I waited a while, and because of that I hurt my imprint accidentally… and also freaked the hell outta her. Paul decided he didn't want to wait, and he also talked to Emily about it. She told him that if she had the chance she'd have preferred to hear about the truth from day one versus getting afraid because she was being stalked by her cousin's ex. Emily and Paul were both worried about you not knowing the truth, and then getting freaked out and sending your dad out to arrest Paul because every time you turn around he's there," then he chuckled, "Though the rest of us thought that would be funny."

"That's not funny at all…" scoffed Marilyn, giving him a chastising look, "And I agree with Emily; it's better to find out in the beginning versus getting stalked, and then finding out why three months down the road," she fell silent again, and then a minute later took in another deep breath, "What'll happen to him if I don't accept it immediately? I mean, I'm not saying that I'm gonna reject it or anything, because it kinda sounds like you felt like you were dying when Emily kept sending you away and told you she didn't want anything to do with you, but what if I don't just instantly accept the fact that Paul and I are soul mates?"

Billy gave her a thoughtful look, "Not accept it, but also not reject it?" he questioned, "So you'll still acknowledge him then, but just not as your soul mate?"

"Like what if I told him we could hang out, or we could talk or whatever we needed to do to satisfy the bond or whatever, but I wasn't fully accepting the entire thing yet. I mean, I kinda just met him," she blushed, looking back at Jacob – it was easier to talk to him rather than her dad's best friend. "Other than that one time when we were eight years old, which I completely forgot about until earlier today, I only just met him last night; and we've talked less than five minutes in all that time of knowing each other. I'm not gonna suddenly just jump into his arms and start claiming we belong to each other. Will that be okay or is that gonna have him in pain?"

Chuckling, Jared smiled across at her, "He'll understand, Marilyn; he's not expecting you to suddenly just agree to be his for life without taking the time to digest everything you're being told or getting to know him. I don't have an imprint, so I don't get it completely, but from what I see in Sam's mind, it's where they only want you guys happy. To know that you even wanna be his friend, and that you're willing to get to know him will be enough for Paul. It's not like you're rejecting him…" she could hear the hesitation in his voice; he wanted to make sure she wasn't going to reject his best friend, and then possibly kill him.

Shaking her head, Marilyn sighed deeply, "No… I wouldn't reject him; not after hearing about the pain that Sam suffered through. So, it's okay if I don't fully accept him right away, right?"

Sam quickly nodded in agreement, "That's perfectly fine, Marilyn. It was worse for me because in the beginning Emily didn't even want to be my friend because I broke up with Leah for her. She wouldn't let me see her or talk to her or be anything for her – a friendship is the perfect thing right now for you and Paul. We're willing to be anything our imprints need us to be. If right now you just need a friend, then he'll just be a friend. When the time comes that you're ready for more than just a friendship, then he'll be ready too. Just letting him be a part of your life in any way is perfect."

Seeing the way that Marilyn began rubbing at her head as she tried to understand everything she was being told right now before asking the main questions she knew they were all bracing themselves for, and the possible tears and screaming that would come with it, Billy leaned forward in his wheelchair, "I know it's a lot to take in on your part, are you okay?"

Nodding her head, she said, "Yeah, I just have a headache. Too many thoughts all at once..."

"If it's any consolation you're handling this pretty well," said Billy in admiration… and worry.

Chuckling, Marilyn said, "Yeah, well that's probably because I've got so many thoughts right now. I'm sure once my mind clears out again, I'll freak out."

"Call me when that happens," Jacob told her in a serious tone at once, "You shouldn't be alone when you begin to freak out about this."

Marilyn didn't know how to explain it. This all scared the hell out of her, and she didn't want any of it, but for some reason she found herself quickly drawn to the idea of being with Paul. She missed him the entire time he was gone from the kitchen, and even now her worry about him running around out in the forest and freaking out about her reaction to all of this was growing stronger. It also sort of explained why she got giddy every time she got a text message only to become disappointed when it wasn't from Paul. "Sure," she nodded her head. But she wouldn't call Jacob or the others; it seemed more plausible to freak out about this with Paul versus Billy; especially since Paul was freaking out about it too.

It was when Marilyn stopped talking, and took in a deep breath then narrowed her eyes that Jacob chuckled nervously and scooted away from her, "Right… now about the Cullens and your sister…"

Her sister was a traitor because of a vampire. Edward Cullen was a vampire, and he claimed that Bella was his singer and that Bella's blood called to him in the way that Marilyn's eyes called to Paul. All of the Cullens were vampires, and the reason Bella made that big dramatic scene about hating their dad and wanting to get out of Forks was because a tracker vampire got her scent and wanted to kill her, so they were luring him out of Forks to protect Charlie and Marilyn. Bella got bit, explaining the scar on her wrist, and then the Cullens killed the tracker and Edward sucked the venom out of Bella's blood and saved her life; she was still human.

And then on Bella's birthday night, at the eighteenth birthday party Marilyn hadn't been allowed to go to, Jasper freaked out because Bella cut her finger, and everyone in the house tried to kill her. So, the Cullens left, and Bella nearly killed herself because of it and turned into a zombie and depended on her fifteen-year-old sister to save her life. Which Marilyn did without any complaints. Then Jacob got into the picture, and Jacob saved Bella, but then Jacob's fever kicked in because a redheaded vampire bitch kept returning; the rest of the pack kicked in. Not Jared and Paul though; they've been part of the pack since the year before when the hunters were going missing because of those three vampires… one of which the Cullens killed, and the other one of which was now coming around, and the second of which the pack killed when they caught it cornering Bella one day. Jacob stayed away because Sam ordered him to, Jacob got around the orders and told Bella the truth, and that was when Bella confronted Sam and bitch slapped Paul and Paul changed into a wolf to kill Bella because he still couldn't control his temper even after a year.

It was one of the reasons why Paul was afraid to confront Marilyn right now – he almost killed her sister, and he didn't know how she would handle it.

But Marilyn ignored that for now because her mind was in an overdrive. Bella practically joined the fucking pack. She told them coven secrets, learned their secrets, allowed them to help her heal, became their friend, and she even explained the redheaded vampire's name was Victoria and she was coming around to kill her because Edward killed her mate the year before after the tracker James tried to kill Bella. The pack had spent weeks and months protecting Bella, and hunting down this particular vampire, but with one vision of Alice's Bella turned her back on them to save Edward – the prick who left her to die on the forest floor.

The Cullens were vampires, a high majority of La Push were werewolves and destined to become one if they caught the scent of a vampire, and Bella had known about it all this time, and she turned her back on her friends and her sister all because a creepy 117 year old vampire told her that her blood smelt nice. Of course, she hadn't heard it from Bella's point yet, but she didn't want to – she found herself trusting this pack more than she could ever trust her own sister again. It wasn't Bella's secrets to tell Marilyn, and Marilyn didn't care that she didn't tell her the truth about any of this since last year, but she still couldn't understand why Bella turned her back.

And then to try to keep Marilyn from coming here today?! After the pack told Marilyn that they confronted Bella and the Cullens about this that Wednesday night?! Bella fucking knew why Marilyn was coming here today!

"So that meeting that Paul told me about on Thursday – he told the Cullens and my sister that he… umm that he imprinted on me?"

It was Sam who nodded his head. "Jake called me when they left the diner, and explained what happened. I called Carlisle and asked for a meeting at the treaty line because something serious came up. I told him to bring Bella because it involved her and her little sister."

"And it was Emmett who attacked Paul?"

"He seems to take a liking to you," snorted Jared. "Something about being amusing."

"So, Bella knows then? And she still tried to keep me from coming here and finding out?!"

Hearing the way that Marilyn's voice rose slightly, and possibly even sensing how her blood was heating up now and her pulse was beating quickly, Jacob reached out to grab her hand, "Just calm down, Mari. Bella's been through a shit lot lately, and she just doesn't want you involved with this too. Right now there's a leech on the loose trying to kill her, and we're all struggling to keep Bella safe. With Paul imprinting on you you're getting involved in this, and you're gonna be put into danger too."

"No, she's just a bitch!"

"Marilyn!" gasped Billy.

Not bothering to apologize for her language, or say that she was wrong, Marilyn only scoffed and then rolled up her hair, "She hasn't even spoken to me or looked at me since I tried to attack Edward, and yet just because she knows that now I'm gonna be part of the wolves or whatever she's gonna allow the vampires to pull me away from you guys?! I knew it was suspicious that she was even at home today, let alone that she wanted to do anything with me. She literally chose him over me, and now she – she – UGH!"

"Just calm down, Marilyn," urged Sam, raising both hands cautiously into the air, "This imprint is still new, and Paul's hotheaded as is. He already hates the Cullens personally, and he's never liked your sister either, but if even for a second he thinks that either of them hurt you or will hurt you he'll lose it and snap. And I don't want you to do something you'll regret. Bella is still your sister, and she-"

"She turned her back on me for a guy who made it known from day one he'll most likely kill her. Fine, he saved her life that one time. But then he left her to die! You saw her that night, Sam! You were the one that found her!"

"I know," he sighed with a nod of his head, "And I also saw what happened to her in the months that followed, but right now turning against your sister won't help anything. She has her own reasons for trying to keep you away from us today."

"Because she prefers the vampires."

"Well yes," he chuckled, "And she also wants to keep you safe. Look Marilyn, Bella met Emily. She heard the story, and she saw Emily's scar. She already witnessed Paul's temper firsthand, and no matter what you think, your sister will always love you – she just doesn't want Paul to hurt you. That was her biggest argument that night too – that Paul will lose control of himself and attack you."

"It's true," nodded Jacob, "She was crying that night that Paul was gonna kill you."

"Yeah, well who the hell is she to talk?!" she demanded to know. "Edward can't even stand being with her for too long because he's afraid he's going to kill her. Jake, you said that Bella freaked out when she cut her head after falling off of her motorcycle that one day. They literally all tried to kill her because of a freaking paper cut!" and then her face paled, and she jumped up in fear, "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?" all of the boys jumped up at once too.

"She starts her period today…" she muttered, already starting to run for the door to pull on her boots, "What if he kills her – if her blood is-"

"Gross…"

"We don't need to hear that, Marilyn!"

"This obviously isn't their first month together…" sighed Billy, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Embry, can you make Marilyn another cup of tea please?"

"She's already had six… is that safe, Billy? I think you can actually overdose on tea…"

"So, what happens now?" Marilyn asked ten minutes later, having had finished her seventh cup of tea too quickly. The others were all watching her closely, waiting for another outbreak, but at this point she was too exhausted. She knew things with her sister would never be the same again, but this was pushing it – Bella made her bed, and now it's time for her to lay in it… with a vampire.

"Paul needs to learn to get used to the leeches," sighed Sam worriedly. "Edward is always at your house because of Bella, sneaking in late at night to make sure no other leeches come to your house while you all sleep."

"And to keep me away," snorted Jacob.

Sam nodded in agreement, "But Paul will start coming by your house too to protect you. I can't keep the order for him to stay away on much longer, Marilyn. I didn't want him anywhere near your house until you learned the truth, but it's driving him insane. He hasn't been able to sleep since Wednesday night, not that he really needs it right now, but he will soon or else he's going to crash hard. And he can't really eat either."

"It's making him sick that he can't see me?" she asked worriedly, not wanting to him to get sick.

"Well that," nodded Sam cautiously, "But also the fact that he knows for a fact there's a leech in your house every single night, and that he can't do anything about it – that he isn't there to protect you from it."

"Cullen's willing to work something out with Paul because he said he understands the need to have to see your mate and check up on them, so he's willing to sneak Bella out at night to his house so Paul can hang out in the forest by your house to keep an eye on you," suggested Seth, looking a little disturbed. "Or he's willing to trade off nights. Every other night he'll be in Bella's room with her, watching the entire house like he's been doing since he got back, and every other night he'll stay away while Paul watches from the forest."

"He also said that if Paul can learn to control his temper, or at least manage to keep from attacking _him _he can stay in Bella's room while Paul stays out in the forest…" admitted Quil. They made it sound almost as if Edward was the fucking good guy in all of this; the one willing to put aside his hatred so the wolf could protect his mate at night.

Marilyn scoffed loudly, "What the hell is he doing in her room anyways?! Why can't he just watch _her _from the forest?!" when nobody could answer her, all looking as baffled as she was, Marilyn said, "And they can't come anywhere on the rez?"

It was Billy who immediately shook his head, "They signed the treaty back in the '30s. It's their scents that trigger the gene in our boys, so we can't chance it. They're vegetarians so we let them live, but if they kill a human or turn a human or enter our territory we'll kill them at once. And the boys are stronger and faster than they are; the Cullens know they won't stand a chance."

"So if I keep coming out here they can't bother me?" when they all chuckled, she sighed in relief, "And Edward's got a chain so tight on Bella that she won't be able to follow me out here either…" at least she had an escape now. "Looks like I'm gonna be coming here a lot, Billy."

"I like that!" Billy beamed brightly at once, looking both relieved and excited, "You're planning on spending all of your time here and not with Paul. I approve of that, Marilyn!"

"Yeah well knowing Paul he'll probably always be here with her too," scoffed Jacob, leaning back against the couch's back and bringing an arm up so that Marilyn was sort of leaning against it.

"But over here _I _can watch that bastard…" snorted Billy, running a hand through his hair and then looking at the time, "Why don't we order pizza; it's already after one."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm so sorry that I'm posting this chapter up a few weeks late! I ended up getting really sick – first I had strep throat, and then I ended up with pneumonia while still having strep throat. Then I went back to work for two days, and ended up with pneumonia again. And then once I was finally feeling better, my internet got shut off because I forgot to pay the bill, and then my stupid laptop broke. Thankfully though, I have like 5 or 6 flashkey thingies now that I saved all of my new stories onto – I learned after I kept losing all of my other ones! So anyways, I ended up paying my internet bill today, and I also bought me a new laptop today. So, because I'm about three weeks behind on posting up chapters, I promise every single one of you that I'm going to post two more chapters between tomorrow and Sunday!**

**Also Happy Gobble Gobble Day everyone – I hope that every single one of you eats until you get fat!**

Chapter Three

Learning more about the pack into the day, and finding out all that she could about the Cullens as well, Marilyn didn't realize it was getting too late until Paul came walking back into the house drenched in sweat. He looked confused to see Marilyn still there, and a bit conflicted about it too. He was once again shirtless, not that Marilyn minded it at all, and wearing only a pair of cutoffs; it looked as if he'd been running around all day. Finding Marilyn still on the couch, sitting between Sam and Jared this time, Paul walked deeper into the house and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"It's ten after seven already, Marilyn," he said deeply, looking worried, "People are still being found dead, and we haven't been able to find the redhead yet. You should start driving home already before it gets too late."

"Oh shit!" jumping up at once, not realizing what time it was and annoyed because she hadn't heard her period app's alarm to remind her to take her pill at seven, Marilyn looked around at the others. They all looked as stunned as she was to hear that it was this late already. Looking down at her phone, and seeing that she had a missed call from Bella and a few text messages from her too, Marilyn frowned, "When the hell did my phone go on silent?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Jacob stood up then stretched his back, "We'll run after you, Mari."

"Is the order still on, Sam?" asked Paul, glancing across at his alpha.

With a remorseful look on his face, Sam said, "Yeah, for now. I don't need you freaking out at her house 'cause of Edward. She's gonna talk to Bella and Edward about a few things first, and then you guys can all figure it out together. 'Til then the orders still on."

Looking frustrated, but nodding his head anyways, Paul said, "I'll follow you out to the treaty line, Marilyn, then the others will follow you the rest of the way."

"I still have to stop at the store," she reminded them all, pulling her keys off from around her neck.

"Then I'll just jump in with you," sighed Jacob. "The others can follow up to the treaty line with Paul, and I'll just go to the store with you. I'm used to Cullen's scent already, and as much as it pisses me off it won't trigger me in the same way that it would trigger Paul. I'll just ride down with you to your house and then run out to the forest and run back here," then he did something that both bothered and amused Marilyn; he looked over her shoulder to Paul, "You cool with that, man?"

"Yeah, I like that," nodded Paul.

Crossing her arms over her chest, noticing the way both Billy and Sam quickly escaped to the kitchen once they saw her action, the only two with experience in these situations, Marilyn cocked a brow, "Jacob Black, why did you just ask Paul for permission?"

Jacob tensed at once, and the others all fell silent. Even Paul froze up. "Err… I don't – I don't know what you're talking about, Mari…"

"You just looked over my shoulder at him, and asked him if he was alright with you jumping in with me to go to the store with me."

"No… I didn't."

"Would you like to try that again?"

Sighing, Jacob rubbed at his hair like a child being embarrassed in front of their friends, "Aw, c'mon, Mari…"

"Why did you just ask Paul for permission?" when Jacob remained silent, Marilyn turned around to face Paul. He stared down at her; his eyes were unreadable but his face showed that he was panicking. In a calm voice, she said, "Why did he just ask you for permission?"

"Be-because he – because he just wanted to make sure I was okay with him going with you?" the reply came out more as a soft and frightened question than an actual answer.

"I am not Bella," she said slowly and calmly, keeping the others all silent and still, "And I am not alright with being owned or labeled as property. I do not like to be stalked, told what to do, or withheld from doing things. Unless you are my dad, my mom, or my stepdad I do not need your permission for anything. And even then, they can't really tell me what to do. I work for my money, I pay all of my own bills, I buy my own necessities, and I don't ask anyone for anything. I bought my car with my own money, I put my own gas into it, I pay my own insurance, it's registered under my name, and I pay my own phone bills. I will not be manipulated, I will not be denied things I want and can do for myself, I will not be threatened, and I do not appreciate people needing to seek _your _permission when it comes to me."

There was choked laughter coming from the kitchen, alerting Marilyn to the fact that Sam was translating everything for Billy. Paul looked stunned for a second, but then he quickly grinned in approval and nodded his head, "At least my girl's not a pushover."

Feeling something in her chest tighten when he referred to her as his girl, Marilyn quickly looked away from him and then back at Jacob, "Because you're an asshole you're not coming in my car. I like Jared though; he's nice. He can come with me."

Jared snickered, and Jacob only snorted then gave Marilyn a challenging look, "You do realize that as Paul's best friend and practical brother since we were all still in diapers that Jared will spy on you for him, right?"

Thinking it over for a second, Marilyn ended up shrugging her shoulders, "There's nothing to spy on if I'm not doing anything wrong," then she looked over at Jared and saw him giving her an amused look because of her response, "I have to do errands though, so I'm shopping with a purpose. Are you weird?"

"I live with my mom," he shrugged, actually understanding the hidden meaning behind her words. "Hell, I could even run in and buy shit for you if you want me to."

"Yep, I like Jared," she chuckled.

"Mari," when she looked back at him, Jacob ran a hand through his hair, "Seriously though, call me if anything. This is a shitload of stuff to take in right now. So far you only freaked out 'cause of the whole Bella trying to keep you away thing, but otherwise you're too calm and accepting."

"I'll freak out when I'm at home and I have more tea…" and then she blushed, "I also kinda owe your dad a new box, so I'll make Jared bring it back if anything."

"If it's in a bag I can carry it while running," Jared assured her with a nod of his head, whispering with Paul right now.

"There you go."

Running into the kitchen once her boots were back on, Marilyn promised to buy Billy two boxes of chamomile tea and send it back with Jared tonight since she drank all of his, and then told both guys goodbye. She was walking towards her car when Paul carefully joined her side; the others stayed a respectable distance away as if to pretend they couldn't hear anything. "Jared told me you were too calm about everything. Are you alright?"

Nodding her head, finding it difficult to look up at him right now because of her headache, she said, "I'm a bit annoyed with my sister, kinda freaked out about the whole soul mate at fifteen thing, really creeped out that my sister's dating a vampire who can read minds and likes to watch her sleep at night, slightly embarrassed because apparently Edward can read my thoughts, all of the Cullens can hear my private conversations when I'm at school and you guys could hear me and Tracy and me and Josh that night at the diner, and I've got a really bad headache."

"Maybe you should just go straight home," Paul said at once, staring at her nervously when he heard about her headache. At first it seemed like he was going to tease her about the conversations he overheard, and comment on everything else too, but once he heard about her headache nothing else mattered. "Or let Jared drive."

"I can drive," she insisted, shaking her head as she opened her door.

"Are you sure?" asked Jared, trying not to make it obvious that he looked at Paul when he asked the question. "I don't mind driving, Marilyn. I've been driving since I was twelve; I promise I'm a good driver."

Chuckling, she nodded her head and then jumped into the driver's seat before they could try to steal her keys from her. "It's just a headache, and I have ibuprofen in the dashboard," along with everything else she had in there. Relieved that she still had her water in her bottle and placing it into her cup holder for now, she started to reach for all of her things on the passenger seat when Jared opened the door to jump in. Tossing them all into the back, but making sure to set her purse between her and Jared as he jumped in, she looked up at Paul; the others were all missing at this point. "So umm… how does this work?"

"I'll call you later tonight," he promised her, scratching at his head. "I can answer whatever other questions you have that the others couldn't answer for you," there were some, "And we can talk about this. For now though, just hurry up and get home. I don't want you driving this late when there's a leech on the loose. It's a far drive," it was an hour and a half drive from Jacob's house to Marilyn's house, but she also had to stop at Walmart first to pick things up. "Text me when you get home."

"Sure," she nodded her head, smiling up at him shyly.

"Want the ibuprofen now?" asked Jared, waiting until Paul disappeared out of sight to quickly phase in so he could follow them through the trees with the others.

Nodding her head, Marilyn also reached into her purse for her birth control pills while Jared opened the dashboard to grab her pills for her, "Thanks."

Giving the birth control pills an odd look, making it known he knew what they were as Marilyn took hers, then made sure to mark it down in her period app, Jared nodded his head and waited until Marilyn passed him the ibuprofen bottle back after taking two pills; she threw her purse into the backseat. "You have an interesting dashboard."

Chuckling as she started the car, Marilyn said, "You should see my trunk. My dad's always worried that one day I'm just gonna jump in the car and drive and never turn around."

"You have clothes in the trunk?" when she nodded her head, he chuckled, "Yeah, I keep a bag of clothes and stuff behind the seat in my truck. My mom's always freaking out about it too."

"Does she know about the pack?" asked Marilyn curiously, finally starting to drive. "I know that Billy knows the truth, and Seth's dad knew the truth, and his mom knows, but do the other parents know too?"

"My mom knows," nodded Jared, looking almost embarrassed. "I actually phased for the first time in front of her. The anger kicked in strongly for me and Paul more than it did for the others, and it was so stupid. I've been craving steak for the longest of time, and I bought a tray of steaks and asked my mom to make it for dinner that night. When I got home from work the steaks were still in the freezer 'cause she got hungry for fried fish instead so she made that. It was the final straw to set me off. She heard the legends before, and she remembered the rumors from her grandfather about her great-grandfather when she was younger, but it still caught her off guard. She freaked out and screamed, and I panicked and took off. Sam found me, and stayed with me up in the mountains 'til three days later when Paul phased in, and he had to run off to calm him down."

"Wow… how did she react when you came back home?"

Laughing, Jared rubbed the back of his neck, "She uhh… she cooked steak 'cause she said she knew I must be hungry. She made steak every single night for an entire month 'til I finally told her that I was sick of steak and asked her to please just make anything else. She's pretty good about it though; she puts up with all of us and the pack. And now with us all on high alert because of the redheaded leech she worries, but she's alright with me not coming home. I call in when I can to let her know I'm alright and to check up on her, but it's not like Embry's situation."

"What's wrong with Embry?"

"His mom doesn't know anything. Tiffany's not even part of this tribe, so she doesn't really know the legends either. Sam keeps telling Embry to tell her the truth, but he's so pissed that she lied to him about his dad all these years that he won't tell her anything. She's constantly starting shit with him, and just busting him. She thinks he's on drugs and that we're a gang."

"Holy shit… are any of the other parents like that?"

"Only Tiffany. Old Quil knows the truth 'cause he remembers when his dad used to phase in front of him when he was younger, and Quil's mom knows the truth too 'cause Old Quil told her everything. And even Paul's dad knows the truth; John helps us out with whatever he can too as best as possible."

"Poor Embry…" she frowned, glancing over at Jared and noticing that her phone lit up to show a new text message from Bella. Sighing in exasperation as she reached for her phone, she said, "Well at least he's got all of you. I mean it's not the same thing as having a parent at your side, but as someone who practically raised herself while her sister did the same because her parents were divorced and her mom was a freelance hippy that believed more in just relaxing and having fun, I only had my sister and my friends back in Phoenix. And in the summers when we'd come out here to see my dad, he would always just drive us into La Push and dump us on Billy while he had to work or so he could fish and hang out with the guys while getting drunk. It's nice having people that become your family to be with you after a while, so at least Embry's not alone."

"Is that why you work and why you make it a point to support yourself?" Jared asked curiously.

Blushing because of what she told Paul, Marilyn shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I guess? I just don't like having to ask anyone for anything. Even though my mom didn't work a steady job she always made sure we ate and had a roof over our heads and whatnot, but she was just never there so Bella and I were the ones who cleaned the house, washed out clothes, and actually cooked the food for us to eat. After she got with Phil though she settled down, so Bella and I really loved him. He tamed our mom, and he not once made us feel like his girlfriend's kids – he acted like a dad should act; like we figured our dad would act if we lived with him," he sacrificed all of his free time just to help a little fat girl get healthy and happy, "But I just always hated having to ask for anything in general. In Phoenix you could get a worker's permit at fourteen for certain jobs, so on my fourteenth birthday I made my mom take me down to get one, and three days later I was working in a bookshop."

"Nice! When did you start working over at the diner?"

"My first week of living here," she chuckled. "My dad took us out to eat there on our first day of school, as a kind of celebratory dinner or whatever. I saw the help wanted sign, and three days later I was in uniform and working there."

_Sent: Bella_

_Lost track of time & phone was on silent. Driving right now with Jared. Please make sure Edward isn't at or near the house when I get home I don't want drama._

_Sent: Bella_

_You have so much fucking explaining to do, Isabella Marie Swan!_

_Inbox: Bella_

_Edward & I are going to go out. Call me when you get home so we can come back without setting off Jared._

Not bothering to read anything from her sister before she decided to text her because she wasn't in the mood to deal with her right now, and whatever she had to say throughout the day, Marilyn put her phone back down and then focused on just driving and getting to know Jared more. He was the best friend and practical brother of her apparent soul mate; they would be in each other's lives forever.

Getting stuck with Paul Lahote apparently also meant getting stuck with Jared Cameron, so she might as well at least get to know him.

Locking up her car as she and Jared jumped out of it, grateful that he was still wearing the shirt that Billy forced him to wear all day at the house because of the constant stares he was getting, Marilyn pulled out a couple of the tote shopping bags from her trunk, then grabbed a wagon and tossed her purse and totes into it with Jared walking in step with her. "Do the stares ever get annoying?"

"Only if it's from an ugly chick," he winked. When she didn't look impressed, Jared laughed and then shook his head, "Not really. You're not so bad looking yourself, Marilyn," he admitted, giving her a pointed look, "So I'm sure you get stared at all the time too. Do you ever get annoyed?"

"Sometimes," she nodded her head, leading him straight into the feminine products aisle to get that over with quickly. She had no shame in this aisle, and in letting anyone know that yes she was a female and that yes she bled for a week every month, and Jared said he was used to it too because of his mom, but she still wanted to get over it quickly. "There are times when I enjoy it, but then there are times when I just want to stab all of their eyes. It depends on what mood I'm in."

Chuckling, he shrugged, "The staring isn't too bad for me. It's the whispers though; that gets irritating quickly."

Feeling her face become heated as she grew flustered, Marilyn softly muttered, "Oh…" and tossed two boxes of tampons with 36 inside along with two packages of 48 pads, and a new thing of feminine wipes into the wagon.

"Your whispers that night weren't too bad," he quickly clarified, realizing that Marilyn now thought she annoyed them all night when whispering with Tracy about how hot she thought they were, especially Paul. "We were all trying not to laugh when you said certain things, but mostly you just admitted to thinking we were all hot and that you weren't going to flirt with Paul," his assurance didn't make Marilyn feel any better, "And there were a few other things, especially with Paul's arms," glancing sideways at Jared's arms, and then quickly looking away, Marilyn could hear the amusement in his tone, "But nothing really bad or annoying. Your whispers were innocent. There are times when we have to put up with very detailed fantasies that a group of chicks suddenly has when they see us."

"Ugh…" shuddering as she fought back the images that wanted to pop up when she realized what Jared meant, Marilyn gave him an appalled look, "Seriously?"

"It's worse in school," he nodded. "And right now…" nodding his head in the direction of a girl that Marilyn vaguely recognized as a girl in her sister's class, who was dressed in an employee's uniform, Jared lowered his voice and reached for a box of sea salt crackers that Marilyn couldn't reach on her own, "Right now that worker chick is whispering to that other chick that she's so disappointed her tongue ring isn't healed yet because she's sure I could have a lot of fun with that. She's going into details about what she could do with that tongue ring of hers."

"Gross…" she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she threw in a box of salt and vinegar chips for her sister as well. "Yeah, okay, I can see how quickly annoying that could become. I mean it could also work to your advantage because you could hook up with chicks easily, but that's also pretty disturbing."

"Tell me about it," he snorted.

Spending half an hour in Walmart, admitting to Jared that it was only so quick because she didn't want to hold him up all night but that she was one of those people who sometimes spent over an hour in here buying things that she didn't even really need or come for, Marilyn was pleased with her shopping for the night. She managed to get everything they needed for the bathroom, she bought herself a new sketchbook because her old one was almost already completed, she brought snacks for her sister, the coconut oil, about ten boxes of tea for herself and three for Billy to make up for the box she drank of his, and a few other things she knew both she and her sister needed.

Sniffing the air as they reached Marilyn's street, Jared sighed in relief, "The leech is gone, and he's nowhere near the house. Your sister's gone too though."

"I texted her to kick Edward out so that his scent wouldn't set you off, and she said that they were both gonna leave so she wants me to call her once you're gone," she snorted, pulling into her driveway.

"Is he coming back with her once you call her?" when Marilyn nodded her head, putting the car into park, Jared smirked, "I could always just stay then?"

Laughing loudly, actually contemplating it for a few seconds, Marilyn ended up cocking a brow, "How will Paul react to you staying here?"

"Ahh… right… I probably shouldn't stay here then," when she chuckled at him, he looked at her, "Need help carrying the things inside?" Jared offered, pulling off his seatbelt.

Shaking her head, Marilyn said, "No thanks, I'm good. I'm gonna leave my school things in so I can study tomorrow on my lunch break since I didn't do it today, and I can carry all these bags on my own."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Nodding his head, Jared opened his door and then hesitated for a second before looking back at her, "Paul's tough, but he's just got it rough. He'll probably annoy the hell outta you, and he'll probably make you feel like you can't breathe, but he's a good guy, Marilyn. Just – just don't get pissed when he asks you to text him or call him when you get home or-"

"I know," she smiled fondly, finding it extremely adorable right now that he was worried about his best friend getting hurt. "He explained it to me Thursday night when he texted me on my dinner break. He didn't mention the imprint thing, but he asked me to text him as soon as I got home 'cause he's the kinda guy to worry about his friends driving home. I'm kinda the same way too, so I didn't think anything about it, and I thought it was kinda cute."

"You do understand that despite your speech earlier, he's still gonna get under your skin, right?"

"As long as he understands that I'll bock him and get under his skin," she chuckled, not becoming fazed at all by Jared's warning. "I see how my sister is losing herself with Edward, and I won't allow Paul to do that to me, Jared."

"Paul wouldn't dare!" he said quickly, shaking his head, "That's not what Paul wants at all, Marilyn. We all told Bella she was being an idiot for taking Cullen back, and we think he's a bastard for hurting her the way he did. It's just that Paul's got a temper, and he's territorial in general; he's always been that way. You say you don't belong to him, and you can say it all that you want to, but Paul will always claim you as _his_. He's gonna do everything he can to keep you from getting hurt."

"I'm confused… is this a 'don't hurt my best friend or I'll kill you' speech? Or is this a 'don't get pissed when my best friend becomes possessive' speech?"

Cocking a brow when he heard the humor in Marilyn's tone, Jared ended up chuckling and shook his head, "You're a cool chick, Marilyn, and I already know you won't hurt him. But he's my best friend, and he's an idiot, so he'll most likely piss you off. I'm just giving you a heads up."

"Ahh… so it's a 'please don't run away and become pissed when my best friend becomes possessive and annoys you' speech…" when Jared laughed softly, Marilyn gave him an assuring look, "I have no idea what the hell's going on right now, Jared, and honestly I doubt that Paul knows too. All I know is it's only gonna be worse on us if he can't learn to control himself when it comes to the Cullens."

"He's trying," Jared assured her with a comical look on his face. "At first at the treaty line that night there were a lot of yelling and attacking happening, but once Sam and Carlisle managed to calm everyone down, Cullen stepped forward and spoke directly to Paul. Cullen's pissed as hell 'cause he thinks his mate's little sister can do better than a wolf, and Paul's pissed as hell 'cause this means he's gonna be stuck with a leech, but Cullen was the first one to try to come to some sort of agreement with Paul."

"Him staying in Bella's room while Paul stays in the forest," snorted Marilyn, "Yeah, I know."

"Well yeah," he snickered, "But I mean he's also willing to meet up with Paul as much as possible so Paul can get used to his scent. So far Paul still freaks out and phases in the instant their scent reaches him, which is why Sam won't lift the order yet, but as a mind-reader, Cullen could see how much that only pissed Paul off even more. And Cullen saw Sam yesterday, so he also saw how much the order is affecting Paul."

"So, he's trying to help so Paul can see me more?"

"Yeah."

"I still hate him for what he did to my sister."

"Well we don't expect you to start liking him all of a sudden. You're one of us now – your sister runs with vampires and you run with wolves."

"We're a fucked up family, aren't we?"

Laughing, Jared nodded in agreement. "Yeah, well the family seems to only be growing even bigger," when Marilyn jumped out of the car and opened the backseat to pull out the bags, Jared jumped out as well, "As your mate, Paul will be able to sense if you're extremely frustrated or bothered about something. If he senses strong rage or fear coming from you, Sam will most likely break the order and Paul will come rushing down here and he'll most likely kill Cullen and the only way to prevent him from killing Bella will be if you jump on top of her. And if Sam doesn't break the order, the rest of us will come down here in an instant. If you and Bella get into each other's faces or you suddenly have the strong violent urge to attack her or Cullen, Paul will sense it, Marilyn."

"So. I can't punch my sister?"

"No," he chuckled, "You can't. Paul will come rushing down here if you do, and then it'll just become one big ugly mess. Right now, the pack is actually trying to work with the Cullens to keep Bella safe, but with you in the picture now we'll choose you over Bella with no hesitation."

Tensing as she grabbed a bag, Marilyn snapped her head up, "What does that mean?"

"That means that if shit really hits the fan or if you're in too much danger, we're pulling out and leaving the Cullens to deal with Victoria on their own. You're pack now; one of us – your safety comes before Bella's."

"But – but she's my sister," Jared shrugged his shoulders, not bothered at all, and Marilyn's jaw fell open, "But Jake's in love with her – he would never allow that. You guys can't just abandon her, and let her be killed, Jared!"

"Jake's not the alpha," he reminded her. And then looking a little sheepish finally, he sighed, "It's not that we _want _to, Marilyn. It's just that if something happened between you both to the point that Paul snapped and Cullen got involved, we would pull back to keep the peace. If Cullen and Paul were both too busy trying to kill each other, we would obviously defend Paul and the other Cullens would obviously defend their own too; you and Bella would be in the middle of it, and you could both get hurt from either of us. So, we would pull you away and leave her with her own, and we would step back and allow them to protect her without us. And if you got hurt in general because of Victoria, or if it gets back to us that Victoria was now hunting you down just because of your sister we would pull you away and step back to leave the Cullens on their own while we kept you safe. Bella knows what's happening, and she knows the consequences of being with the Cullens, and she told us herself that the Cullens are back now and they can keep her safe, so she didn't need us anymore."

Sighing heavily, remembering how it was Jacob who told her that earlier, Marilyn rubbed her face, "She's such an idiot. Of course she needs you guys, Jared."

"But she's got too much damn faith in the Cullens," he reminded her with a bitter snort, "And she told us herself she didn't need us because they have her now. So, if it comes to it, we'll let them deal with her while we focus only on you. If it comes to it, Sam's gonna put the order to leave Bella alone and not even Jake can break it. And Paul knows that. So, it's gonna take him a while to get used to it but he already agreed to try and make it work with Cullen. He told Cullen to give him at least a week to prepare himself."

Stunned, Marilyn's eyes widened, "Really?" none of the others had told her this earlier; they didn't tell her anything about Edward offering to work with Paul so Paul could learn to adjust to his scent, and they didn't tell her about their quick agreement to pull out and leave Bella open to being killed if Cullen and Paul couldn't get along or if they felt that Marilyn was in too much trouble.

Chuckling, looking slightly conflicted, Jared nodded his head and then scratched the back of his head. "We could all see it in Jake's mind when he first phased in, how Bella looked when the Cullens left, and how much you did for her just to keep her alive and healthy. And even despite talking shit about her and feeling betrayed 'cause she chose Cullen over you, you still get pissed when one of us says something and you still defend her against one of us whenever we try to say something. It's obvious you don't wanna lose your sister, Marilyn."

"We were close once," she sighed, furrowing her brows and then looking up at Jared with worried eyes. "We've always been different, and like sisters we usually argued, but we've always been close. She was my Isabella. In the beginning I even liked Edward too, and he didn't come between us. But after he got back, she changed, and I started noticing little things about him that I didn't like. I just – she's the only sister I have."

"We know," he smiled, allowing her to see that pitied her, "We all know, Marilyn. And Paul knows it too. We've heard about Bella's little sister before from Jake after you guys moved out here last year, and Bella talked about you a few times too when with us. Hell, even the chief talked about you a few times. So we all knew how close you two were, especially if you did so much for her without a single complaint about it, and as much as it annoys Paul that you're Bella's sister and it means he's gotta put up with her, he's willing to try and to learn to get used to the Cullens 'cause he already knows that it'll make you happy."

"Really?"

"He's trying, Marilyn," chuckled Jared with a nod of his head, "And it'll take him a while, but he's trying."

"I kinda just figured I'd end up spending all of my time in La Push while Bella was here in Forks," she admitted with a flushed face.

"As much as Paul's hoping for that he already knows that you don't wanna lose your sister. And he knows that if it comes to that point where we turn our backs on Bella just 'cause he lost his temper with Cullen that all hell is gonna break loose, and you'll probably get sick or break down and that you'll turn against him," admitted Jared, scratching at his jaw now.

Sighing as she thought about it, Marilyn gave Jared a nervous look, "I – what do I do, Jared?"

"You get inside, you get settled in, and you call Paul so the two of you can talk about things," he shrugged, though there was a defiant and knowing look in his eyes, "He's honestly the only one that can answer your questions, and you two are the only ones who will know what to expect or look towards. I didn't tell you all of this to give you a headache again or worry you even more about everything, but I just want you to understand that Paul is a nice guy when he wants to be. I know he's an asshole, and everyone just sees him as an asshole, and your sister hates him and doesn't trust him at all, but if you give him a chance, he's not so bad."

"My sister doesn't have the right to judge Paul for being an asshole when she's dating Edward Cullen," snorted Marilyn. She gave Jared an appreciative look though, and then smiled softly, "Too bad I don't have a best friend to give Paul that whole 'it takes a while, but eventually you'll get used to her being really weird' speech."

"It worries me that that would have to be a warning," and then he started snickering with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Well Jake gave him a big brother speech once we left the diner that night, even taking it as far as to remind him that as a wolf in the same pack Jake could see his thoughts and hear his thoughts and know his every thought and that if it came to it he was bigger and could take him down," when Marilyn gasped loudly, blushing as she imagined how that speech went down, Jared said, "And aside from Emmett Cullen literally physically attacking Paul and breaking his nose, and Edward making it known that the two of you were never gonna be alone together ever, and Alice reminding Paul that she could see the future and would make sure to keep a close on yours, and even Rosalie jumping in to promise that she could make him disappear if he hurt you, Paul also had to put up with Billy beating him with a broom and threatening him with shotguns 'cause he watched you grow up and he's best friends with your dad. Though we all thought the best part was when Paul's own dad started to go off on him and threaten him, and remind him that he may be his dad but he knew you when you were in diapers still and that he goes fishing at least once a month with your dad and would have no problem turning against his own son. So, nobody warned him that you were weird, but he's got a lotta people willing to kill him and hurt him."

"That – that actually kinda makes me like the Cullens again…" she muttered, struggling not to laugh as she pictured Paul being beat with brooms and shotguns, and then getting punched by Emmett. "And I kinda feel really bad for Paul now. He's being threatened, and still no one bothered to warn him of how weird I am…"

"I'm sure Jake will get to it eventually…" shrugged Jared. Then shaking the bag in his hand with the tea boxes for Billy, he nodded in the direction behind her house, "Seth just ran out here," she wondered vaguely if he knew it was Seth because of his scent, "I'm not phased in so I don't know why, but I have a feeling Paul sent him out here to see if you're home yet. When I phase in, I'll tell Paul to give you a few minutes before you text him so you can get everything inside and put away."

"Okay thanks," and then calling out his name loudly as he jogged towards the side of her house, Marilyn saw the way he stopped and looked over his shoulder at her, "Thanks – for the talk… I'm still on edge, but I kinda feel a little better."

Grinning proudly, pleased that he did something right, Jared gave her a hopeful look, "He's a tough one, but with a little patience you'll get used to him."

"I still feel kinda bad that nobody bothered to warn him it'll take a while to get used to me too," she chuckled.

Managing to get her purse, and the couple of bags from Walmart into the house in one quick trip, Marilyn sighed heavily at the house's emptiness. It was something she was already used to at this point, but it was still something she found herself regretting. As much as she loved being isolated and constantly keeping herself busy, Marilyn hated being alone; she hated knowing that she was the only one in a particular place. Silence was welcomed, and she didn't need people in her face or within her vision, but she loved knowing that she was upstairs in her room and her sister was in her own room or that her dad was downstairs on the couch. Just the thought of being alone in general, and the only one in the house, had bothered her from as long as she could remember.

Making her way upstairs once everything that was meant for the kitchen had been put away neatly where they all belonged, Marilyn stopped in her sister's room quickly to place the bags with her salty goodies on her bed so she wouldn't miss it, and then she put everything away in the bathroom as well. Ten minutes later, with her clothes put away and everything she bought for herself put away as well, and her tote shopping bags returned to her car's trunk, Marilyn plugged her phone into her charger and then texted Paul.

_Sent: Paul_

_I know you know I'm home 'cause Jared phased in already but I just put everything away. I'm about to take a shower though._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Did your sister come home already?_

_Sent: Paul_

_I didn't even text or call her yet._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Are you going to?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Idk. I don't want to. I don't feel like having to deal with her tonight. & she made it known she's bringing Edward back. & I really don't feel like having to deal with him._

_Inbox: Paul_

_You do have to talk to your sister about this eventually though. You can't just ignore it._

_Sent: Paul_

_I know. But not tonight. I still have to talk to you about this & I don't want to talk to her about everything when I still don't even know everything. When I bitch at her I want to have a clear mind & know what's going on on our end._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Ok. Text me when you get out of the shower then I'll run home to call you._

_Sent: Paul_

_Ok._

Taking a quick shower, and making sure to wash her hair because she always felt like red dirt got stuck in it every time she went over onto the rez, Marilyn scrubbed her face and brushed her teeth then got dressed in a comfortable t-shirt and a pair of sleeping shorts once her body lotion was on her everywhere and she was covered completely in baby powder. Still keeping her mind from thinking about anything she had learned so far just to keep from freaking out before she managed to talk to Paul, she ran downstairs to make herself a cup of tea and then finally sat on her bed comfortably and reached for her phone. It was already a quarter to eleven by then.

_Sent: Paul_

_Ok I'm out now._

_Sent: Bella_

_I'm at home & showered but not tonight, Bella. I don't want to see you or him. I don't want to talk about this with you yet & I really don't want to talk about this with him. I'm waiting for Paul to call me & then he & I are gonna talk about everything._

_Sent: Bella_

_I don't want you guys here when we talk. I don't need to be listened in on._

_Inbox: Paul_

_I'm gonna start running home right now. Give me like 20 minutes._

_Inbox: Bella_

_Ok. I'll give you tonight, Mari. But we do need to talk about this. I'll sleep at Edward's tonight. Just let me know if you're alright at least. Are you okay?_

_Sent: Bella_

_Other than finding out my sister betrayed me for a leech that left her to die & that she turned against all of her friends for him too & then took it upon herself to keep me from learning about my soul mate & not caring if he got sick & then died because I rejected him without realizing it, yeah never better._

_Inbox: Bella_

_He wouldn't have died. Sam lived._

_Inbox: Bella_

_And I haven't betrayed you, stop being dramatic. I just wanted Paul to learn to control his rage before confronting you. And I also wanted Victoria to be dead before you got involved with the pack. There are still things you don't understand; things the pack doesn't know either._

_Inbox: Bella_

_I love you, Marilyn! Never doubt that and never question that!_

_Sent: Bella_

_I don't have time for you right now._

_Inbox: Bella_

_Tonight, I will give you tonight only. Tomorrow when you get off of work you and I need to talk._

_Sent: Bella_

_Leave the leech at his own house. I want nothing to do with him._

_Inbox: Bella_

_Edward is innocent in all of this! He told me how ridiculous I was being trying to keep you from going to Jake's today. Why do you think he was silent this morning when I was trying to keep you home?_

_Sent: Bella_

_He left you to die! & I'm glad he can see my thoughts 'cause 'til the day I die I will always make sure he sees how you almost killed yourself because of him. I didn't know he could see it every time I thought about it but I'm glad he could._

_Inbox: Bella_

_You're being childish right now! It isn't like that! Edward left to keep me safe!_

_Sent: Bella_

_Because his entire family almost killed you over a paper cut…_

_Inbox: Bella_

_They've gotten better at controlling their urges._

_Sent: Bella_

_I don't want him here. If I see him here I'm leaving._

_Inbox: Bella_

_Tomorrow night is a school night, Marilyn…_

_Sent: Bella_

_I'll wake up early enough to still get my workout in and drive down to school from La Push. Keep him away from me!_

_Inbox: Bella_

_Fine, alright, it'll just be me tomorrow when you get home from work. Edward will be at home at his house._

_Sent: Bella_

_Make sure of it, Bella._

_Inbox: Bella_

_I promise._

_Sent: Bella_

_Ok._

_Inbox: Bella_

_I love you, Marilyn!_

_Sent: Bella_

_I love you too, Isabella!_

Now all she had to do was wait until Paul called.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Hearing her phone ring just as she returned to her room with the second cup of tea she made since coming home, Marilyn saw that it was Paul calling her. Taking in a deep breath as she answered it, she said, "H-Hello?" she didn't know why she was so nervous suddenly, when she talked about it all day and had a conversation with Jared all about it, and even texted Paul about it, but it was like it was surreal now – having him call her to talk about it over the phone made it that much more real.

There was a breathy chuckle from the other end, "There's no reason to be nervous, sweetheart," sweetheart – they've known each other for only three days, mostly through texts only, and he was calling her sweetheart already. It thrilled her more than it should have – she'd always loved the thought of being called something other than just babe or baby by someone other than her parents or an old person!

Shadows were dancing on her ceiling as she moved to lay down on her back, "I think I have every reason to be nervous right now, Paul…"

There was a soft and throaty chuckle that had her biting her bottom lip, "Yeah, I guess that's true," then he sighed, and it sounded as if he scratched as his hair, "Are you okay?"

"I think I'm just still kinda in shock with everything."

"What part?"

Snorting, she rolled her eyes, "Everything."

"Did you text your sister already?"

"She's gonna sleep at Edward's tonight 'cause I told her I didn't want to see either of them yet, and that I didn't want him eavesdropping when you and I finally talk about this."

"Was she okay with that?"

"Yeah. She's gonna come home tomorrow when I get off of work though so we can talk about it. I didn't call her 'cause I didn't wanna deal with her, so I texted her instead. She said something about not wanting you to confront me yet 'til you learned to control your temper and 'til Victoria was dead 'cause she didn't want me getting involved with that. And then she said something weird…"

"What?"

"I don't know… just something about there being more to the entire situation than the pack knows. She's gonna explain it to me tomorrow."

It was silent for a moment, and Marilyn could hear the sharp intake of breath. "Quil has a theory…"

"About my sister?" she asked.

"Yeah. He, uhh… he thinks that Cullen's gonna turn her. He thinks that might be why she's avoiding all of us and pulling away from the pack."

Gasping softly, sitting up at once to take a sip from her tea, Marilyn's eyes widened in surprise, "What?"

"He's been thinking about it for the past week, before I met you. That's why we were in the diner that night. Usually the Cullens would take turns stalking the diner to keep an eye on you, but-"

"Wait what?" her heart was racing now, "What do you mean they stalked the diner to keep an eye on me?"

"Oh, was that not mentioned?"

"No."

"Oh, uhh…" hesitating for a moment, Paul sighed, "Ever since we found out about Victoria coming back for Bella, Jake told us all how you worked at the diner. So, we all took shifts hanging out in the forest about half a mile away from the diner just to keep an eye on you to make sure no leeches got too close. We stayed phased in at all times though 'cause it would be easier to run if we caught her scent."

"So, all that time I was being watched over from the pack?" she gawked.

Chuckling, Paul said, "Yeah."

"Oh wow…" then she frowned, "But the Cullens took over when they got back?"

"Since Bella told us the Cullens were back and she didn't need us anymore, Sam told us to pull back from the diner too. Jake made a scene 'cause he didn't trust the Cullens, so one of the others would run through just to make sure a Cullen was always close by the diner when you were working."

"Wow. Umm… thanks?"

Laughing softly as if to keep from waking up his dad, Paul said, "You don't have to thank us, Marilyn. We just wanted to make sure you weren't being stalked by Victoria. After Quil came up with his theory though, Jake said he wanted to check up on you just to make sure you were okay since he knew Bella pulled away from you too. He was also hoping to run into one of the Cullens to confront them on it, and he had to return Bella's motorcycle to her. He was gonna use that as an excuse. But once the one watching you smelt all of us riding down in Jared's truck, he left. It was the Southern one."

"Jasper," she said absentmindedly.

"Yeah, him."

"I wondered why you guys were all there that night, but I didn't think to ask earlier. I kinda just figured Jake was stalking Bella again and got hungry then decided to bug me for information on her and Edward…" she admitted with a thoughtful look on her face now. "So despite me acting like a bitch since they got back, and all of them completely avoiding me in school and apparently having been able to hear me always complaining about them they still kept an eye on me at work just to make sure I was safe?" she asked, feeling her stomach beginning to twist uncomfortably now.

It was silent, and then Marilyn heard the soft grunt, "Yeah."

"I still don't like them…" she muttered, beginning to feel _something _in her feelings towards the Cullens changing though.

Paul chuckled deeply, and this time it sent a pulse of pleasure through her body down to her fucking toes, "Good."

Chuckling as well, even giggling a little as she imagined his brows furrowing in the same frustrated way they got that night in the diner while she was talking to Justin them, she ended up groaning softly. "Okay, you know what… actually… let's talk about the diner first, and then us, and then we can talk about Bella and the Cullens. Because I don't really feel like having to put up with all that teasing. This way I can end the teasing by bringing up a new subject."

"And why would I tease you, sweetheart?" he asked teasingly, causing Marilyn to shiver and then blush in the comfort of her own bedroom. "Because you thought I was hot, and had to constantly remind yourself not to flirt with me all night after admitting to checking me out?"

Feeling a bit cheeky, wondering if Paul could take it as good as he gave it, Marilyn turned on her own teasing voice, a voice that had gotten her way with guys in the past, "I seem to remember also admitting to checking out Jake, and flirting with him before…"

The growling noise that entered her ear from her phone had Marilyn biting her bottom lip hard to keep from whimpering; she had never heard such an exotic sound before in her life. "We don't need to mention the diner ever again," Paul said gruffly, making it known he didn't appreciate his mate once fancying Jacob before.

Laughing softly, laying back down in her bed and getting comfortable once more, Marilyn calmed down and then spoke in a serious and nervous tone, "Yeah, but we kinda have to. It was brought to my attention you almost phased in right there when Tracy brought up my previous flirtation moments… Jared had to use his beta voice, and Jake told you to think about Emily and Sam or else there would've been a giant ass wolf in the diner that night."

Growling again, softly this time, Paul sucked in the air through his teeth and made a noise because of it. But then he sighed tiredly and said, "Yeah, but that was before we even met, right? Before I imprinted on you…"

"Yeah."

"You're not gonna flirt like that again, are you?"

"Well I don't know," she said jokingly, "What if I get another speeding ticket?"

"Then you pay for it like a normal person or you cry to your dad to get you out of it!" he snorted in annoyance.

"I'm a very flirtatious girl in general, Paul," she warned him.

"I kinda figured when you had to literally mutter to herself to _not _flirt all night, Marilyn," he scoffed.

Chuckling, Marilyn said, "As a waitress I live off of my tips. I bring home $168 every paycheck, and $140 of that goes strictly to my phone bill and car insurance alone. Gas isn't so bad since I only go to school and work, but I have a feeling my time when I'm not in work or school is gonna start to be spent in La Push, so my second paychecks will most likely go strictly just to that. Not to mention everything else I need. If I don't smile or bat my eyes once in a while I'm bringing home luckily $30 or $40 a night 'cause sometimes assholes like to leave just a dollar."

"So, you flirt for money?" it sounded like Paul didn't know whether to start shouting at her or laugh at her. His voice was strangled though. "I'm pretty sure there's another name for that, Marilyn…" laugh – he was struggling not to laugh at her.

"I flirt for bigger tips, you ass…" she snorted at him, amused with how this talk seemed to be going so far though. "And not just at work. I'm just a nice girl in general, and sometimes it's mistaken for flirting. I honestly don't know how to turn it off or stop 'cause most times I'm not trying to flirt but it's coming off as flirting," because these days a simple smile _did _mean a girl was begging for your attention.

"So, you're warning me right now that I have to get used to you flirting with other guys?" he questioned; all laughter quickly drained from his voice. "That you don't know how to stop it?"

"Pretty much…" she said meekly, sitting up once again to drink from her tea. "There were obviously times when I would flirt with a guy on purpose, but there were more times when I didn't mean to or didn't know it was seeing as flirting. I may be confused about a lotta things right now, but I obviously know enough to understand what soul mates mean – I'm not an idiot. I'm obviously not gonna purposely go around flirting with guys anymore for their number or 'cause I think they're hot or anything like that, but when at work I turn on my charm for bigger tips and I still smile at people just to be nice. I'm not a bitch, but I'm a flirt…"

"I think _I _have a headache now…" he groaned. "I saw you talking to Jared about being weird, and I think I'm starting to understand it now."

Laughing loudly, grateful that nobody was home to hear her or bust her, Marilyn said, "I just don't want it to set you off."

"It's probably gonna set me off, Marilyn. No matter what. You're flirting with people; it will always set me off," when Marilyn chuckled weakly, Paul sighed, "But I'm not gonna get involved with your job. You work to support your own personal needs, and I have a lotta respect for that. Seth's sister Leah was a waitress for a while, and I see it in his mind sometimes, so I get what it's like to depend on your tips and have to make sure you get as much tips as you can 'cause the paycheck is shit. I don't like it, but I won't get in the way of your job or your income. I'm not that much of an asshole," his answer was admirable and honest, and it had Marilyn smiling in adoration.

"If it's any consolation I promise not to check out any guys anymore… well, I mean I might admire and appreciate their looks, but you know… I won't actually pay attention to them or anything."

"That actually makes me really worried that you would feel the need to have to assure me of that," he said quickly, and in a strained voice. "I already stopped looking at the girls in my school, and I completely ignore them when they look at me or try to talk to me, but I didn't think it was necessary to have to tell you about it."

Perking up at once, finding herself a lot more relieved than she thought possible at hearing that Paul no longer checked out other girls or even paid attention to them, Marilyn found herself realizing that hadn't even been a concern of hers until he mentioned. "I uhh… well being weird also comes with being awkward. Sometimes I just say things without meaning to…" she admitted with a soft groan. "Well I kinda meant to say that, but I just mean that basically you'll have to get to weird talks and hearing random things normal people wouldn't say or announce."

Also groaning, loudly though, Paul said, "You're gonna put me through hell, aren't you?"

"Most likely…"

"Well this should be interesting," he said finally after a few more seconds of groaning and then strange chuckling, "You're weird and awkward, and I'm temperamental and possessive."

"I'm also independent. So at least you don't have to worry about your imprint taking you for every penny you have. If I see something I want in a store, I'll just buy it for myself."

Laughing in amusement, Paul said, "Yeah, I actually do like that. I pretty much figured that out earlier when you gave me your speech about not needing my permission for anything and everything else you said, and I actually really like that a lot. It's just gonna make it more special when I buy you something. There are chicks out there that are so used to having their boyfriends or husbands buy them whatever they want that when they get a gift, they don't really think much of it. I ain't gonna stop you from wanting to pay your own bills."

Cocking a brow in unison with her heart beating quickly when she heard Paul talking about girls with their boyfriends or husbands, Marilyn smiled from ear to ear when she also heard him talking about gifts. "Well I like to pay my own bills, and buy myself things, but I _am _a fifteen-year-old girl about to turn sixteen – I also like being given things from time to time. I don't expect it, but I never turn it down."

"Well at least I don't have to worry about you being so independent you'll throw my gifts back into my face," he chuckled in slight relief.

"Nope," she shook her head with her own chuckle, "I will definitely accept it," and then she started laughing, "Well at least we got the awkward parts out of the way. We're already talking about you giving me gifts; I think this is progress, Paul."

"I think so too, sweetheart," he laughed as well. When the laughter finally died down on both ends though he sighed, "Well we do still have things to talk about."

"Yeah," she nodded in agreement. "So… umm… how does _this _work?" she asked him nervously.

"You and me?" there was hesitation in his voice.

"Yeah."

"Well Sam and Emily said that in the beginning we're both going to be drawn to each other. We won't be able to stop thinking about each other, and the only thing that can help sedate us for now is talking or being near each other."

"Sam kinda told me that too," she nodded absentmindedly, frowning when she saw her cup was empty. Grunting because it meant she had to go back downstairs to make herself another cup, Marilyn climbed out of her bed and reached for the empty Tardis mug on her nightstand. "He said something about the texting being enough to sedate us both these past few days because I didn't really know anything, and you were satisfied enough 'cause you got to at least hear from me in some type of way."

"Yeah. I wanted to call you these past days, but I figured it'd be better if I waited 'til you were filled in at least. It's easier to hide things with a text, and I didn't wanna freak you out 'cause I was growling or anything," when Marilyn agreed with him, also finally understanding why she reacted to every single text message in the way that she had these past days, Paul softly said, "I'm sorry that I ran off earlier, but I was worried about how you'd react about everything, and I'm still not really good at controlling the phases… which you've been warned about. I figured you'd freak out, and I didn't think I'd be able to control myself from phasing in if you started to run away or scream at me that I was insane," the laugh he released was filled with nervous fear… he was just as confused and frightened as she was. That made her feel a little better.

"It's okay," she assured him, setting the kettle on the stove to begin boiling the water. "The others did a good job of explaining everything. Honestly I think I would've freaked out a lot if you were there when I found out the truth about everything."

"Did you freak out yet before texting me?" he asked her softly.

"Honestly…" she chuckled dryly, "I just kept my mind busy by trying to remember everything I'm supposed to study for upcoming finals to keep from thinking about it. I think this is good though. I think talking to _you _about it, since I know you're freaking out about everything too, will help keep me from actually freaking out. Does that make sense?"

"You mean it was easier to wanna freak out earlier 'cause everyone talking to you about it wasn't part of it with you, and you kinda just wanted to talk to me?" when Marilyn confirmed it for him, Paul said, "Yeah, that makes sense. So, you're okay then?"

"Yeah…" hesitating momentarily, Marilyn finally said, "Listen, I umm… they all told me that you were worried that it would be like how Sam and Emily was; that I would freak out and run away while you turn into a stalker," when Paul laughed throatily, Marilyn blushed, "And Sam also warned me that you'll get sick if I stay away from you. I-I don't want you to get sick."

A low growl escaped Paul's throat, "He shouldn't have told you that much. Don't worry about me. You need time to come to terms with what's happening, and-"

"No," she said nervously, interrupting him, "I-I'm – I mean…" she sighed, "I just – I don't want to shove you away like how Emily did with Sam in the beginning. I think because I'm getting all the information upfront, I'm more open to it than she is; you and Emily were both right to decide to tell me immediately versus months down the road. And I don't want you to get sick. But I'm not saying you can get all creepy like Sam did with Emily and start saying you love me and stuff like that. We don't even know each other. Let's just – let's take it slow."

It was silent for a moment, and then Paul sounded amused, "Yeah, I saw you talking to Billy and the pack about that. And what is slow, Marilyn?" he saw the entire conversation that she had with all of them after he left them alone together, because of the whole pack mind link thing, but he still wanted to hear her tell _him_ how she felt.

"This is slow," she chuckled softly, feeling her heart trying to escape through her chest. "Us talking right now is slow. You said that as long as we talk or are near each other every day you won't get sick, right?" he also mentioned how she's going to start to slowly crave him too, and this will be the only way to sedate her as well… but she wouldn't mention that.

He chuckled throatily, "Yeah, sweetheart, this will help me out," and then his voice fell low, "Or is that no good too?" he asked her. "Is me calling you sweetheart moving too quickly?" she could tell that it was a serious and sincere question; he wasn't mocking her in any way. He was truly worried that the nickname was moving too quickly for her.

Biting back the small moan that wanted to escape when she heard his low voice, and the genuine concern in his question about his name for her, Marilyn shook her head as if he could see her, "N-No…" damn her stupid traitorous voice, "I don't mind that," they had to have been telling the truth – he was already consuming her mind. Since when did she lose her voice and stutter over a boy? No matter how gorgeous he was!

His laugh was deep and rumbling; it was loud and boisterous, "So I understand that you're the same Marilyn that came to the bonfire all those years ago?" she was pleased to get off of the other subject for now.

"Yeah," she smiled, "I didn't realize it was you guys until we were talking about it."

"Who would've thought that nearly eight years later we'd be here?" he chuckled. "Only I guess this time I'm not pretending to be a wolf."

"And Jared's not a vampire," she pointed out in amusement.

Paul started to laugh again, "Yeah, well that's a good thing. Besides everybody knows that wolves are better."

"I don't know," she teased, "I always had a thing for Dracula. That whole cape thing is pretty hot," this part was normal for her – this part she could handle; the teasing back instead of stumbling.

This time Paul's growl had Marilyn shivering; it was different from his other growls. This one was possessive. "That's not funny, Marilyn," it seemed impossible how his words had the ability to melt her. It should be illegal.

She snickered, "I thought it was," and then she shuddered and quickly said, "Okay, yeah it's not funny. I take that back."

"You just thought about Cullen, didn't you?" he snickered back at her, sounding almost cocky.

"Oh, shut up…" she muttered. "So, about that friend thing though," she sighed, bringing it back to that because they had other things to talk about and it couldn't keep circling back to this all night. "Are you okay with that? I mean that's good enough for you right now, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he assured her in a promising voice, "It's just like how Sam explained it to you – as long as you're allowing me to be in your life in any way I'm satisfied. If all you want is a friendship right now, I'll be the best friend you ever had," Marilyn giggled, "And when you're ready to take our friendship to the next step, I'll be ready too. As long as you're comfortable, and happy, so am I."

"How does it feel?" she asked curiously, heading back upstairs to her room with her cup of tea. "To one day be free, and then suddenly be ready to devote your entire life to someone you don't even know?"

"Honestly," he said in surprised voice, stunned that she even thought to ask how he felt about this entire situation, "I don't mind it at all. I never thought I would ever imprint on anyone in general, but the moment our eyes met in the diner that night it was as if I was falling, and I realized that I was okay with it. I mean I was caught off guard when I realized I imprinted on Bella Swan's little sister because it means I'm stuck with her and a bunch of leeches too, but I'm actually really okay with this."

"You're not pissed?"

"No," he chuckled. And then it fell silent before a soft, "Are you?" reached her ears.

Taking a sip as she climbed back into her bed, Marilyn quickly said, "No, I'm not pissed. I mean I'm obviously surprised and wasn't expecting to find my soul mate a month before I make sixteen, but being pissed didn't even cross my mind. Today I found out that I have a guy willing to sacrifice his own life to protect me always, and who will always put my needs before his own, and who will always be there for me whenever I want or need him; I don't think any girl would get pissed at that," when Paul started laughing, Marilyn blushed but giggled softly, "But I figured that it's gotta suck from your end. To have no control over this; to suddenly just devote your life to a stranger, and be willing to put her needs before your own…"

"I always thought so," he admitted sheepishly, sounding almost ashamed of himself for thinking such a way once upon a time. "From the first time I learned about imprinting through Sam's mind, I always told myself I'd never get stuck like him, and I'd never allow myself to be suckered by fate into being trapped. I don't know how to explain it to you, Marilyn, and Sam will be the only one to ever understand me 'til the others imprint too, but the moment I saw your eyes all those thoughts left. There's no bitterness about it at all. I found my imprint, my soul mate, and I'm willing to put her needs before my own. And the best part of it all is that you're willing to let me enter your life. I could've had it worse – you could've been like Emily and want nothing to do with me, or you could've freaked out with the truth about everything and took off, and you could've rejected me. But you didn't. You're willing to get to know me and give me a chance."

"You could've been stuck with Bella," gasped Marilyn teasingly with a hint of humor in her voice.

"I don't think I would've been okay with that," he laughed. "And I don't think fate would've been that cruel. Though this could also be punishment for trying to kill her that one time…"

Hearing the way Paul instantly stopped laughing, afraid he just ruined the moment by mentioning the time he tried to kill Bella and almost succeeded, Marilyn smiled into the phone and softly said, "I don't blame you for that, Paul. Everyone told me how she got into Sam's face that day. You were already hyped up from chasing Victoria all morning, and then she got into Sam's face and started screaming at him. And then she bitch-slapped you when you laughed about Jake being afraid of you guys. I would've attacked her too."

"I could've killed your sister, Marilyn."

"She shouldn't have bitch slapped you," she sniffed in annoyance. "I seriously do not care about that day. It would be different if you attacked her for no reason, but she struck you first. I meant it when I said that if you're man enough to hit a dude then you're man enough to get hit by a dude, and I'm not gonna say differently just 'cause I now know you phased into a giant wolf to attack her instead of just punching her."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so get over it."

There was a loud sigh of relief, "That seriously takes a lot off my shoulders. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to forgive me for that."

"You're forgiven," she smiled sweetly. "Now back to us… well, actually I guess it's onto Bella and Edward now. Is there anything else you had to say?"

"Not tonight," he assured her. "I know you had lots of questions, sweetheart."

"Yeah, but I'm just glad we got all of that stuff outta the way for now; we can talk about other things as time goes on. My biggest thing I wanted to talk to you about tonight was the friendship thing and making sure that would be okay with you."

"Of course it is," she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Well Sam also told me how the order to stay away from my house has been affecting you," ignoring Paul's loud protesting cry of how Sam should mind his own damn business, Marilyn sighed, "And Jared also told me about you and Edward. What's going on with that?"

Sighing heavily and making loud ruffling sounds as if tossing and turning in his bed right now, Paul said, "It took about an hour before we all finally settled down that night. As a mind reader, Cullen was watching my thoughts about you while we were all arguing with each other and I was being attacked, and all he could see was me thinking of ways to keep you safe from his family and from Victoria. I thought about sleeping under your window but then quickly dismissed that one 'cause the chief would shoot instantly if he found a seven and half foot tall wolf sleeping outside of his house. So then I thought about sleeping out in the forest, but then quickly remembered he always stays in your sister's room so then I thought about just figuring out a way to get you to sleep at Billy's every night instead to keep you away from all of them. Hell, I even thought about trying to convince Charlie to move into La Push just so you could transfer to my school for the rest of the year to get away from the Cullens."

"So, because every thought you had had to do with keeping me safe, Edward decided to call some sort of truce with you?" she gawked.

Snorting, Paul said, "Yeah – the bastard. He made it loudly known your safety was my main concern, so then he started trying to come up with compromises to split our time watching over the house so I wouldn't have to smell him and compromises of me getting used to his scent so we could both be there for double protection. The entire pack and all of the Cullens know that as _my _mate, you're my main priority. If Victoria comes one night while I'm there, they all know I would focus on keeping you safe more than worrying about Bella. And Cullen admitted that if it came between you and his mate, he'd choose Bella."

"At first I was really pissed that you'd save me and leave my sister behind, but now I'm just really offended," she snorted in disgust. "Is that a thing – a vampire and wolf thing?"

"It's a thing when you have a mate," he chuckled, not sounding remorseful at all. "Our mates always come first, Marilyn. Hell Sam would choose Emily over his mom if the time came for him to do so, and as much as Sam loves you he'd leave you behind to get Emily to safety too; as I would do the same if it ever came to having to save your life or Emily's life. And we all understand that it's nothing personal; it's just that _our _mates come before anyone else," this was definitely new to Marilyn, and something that caught her attention; it was almost intriguing to know that Sam accepted Paul leaving Emily behind to get killed if it meant keeping Marilyn safe, and vice-versa. She doubted the aftereffects of such a situation would still have them as friends and brothers, "So Cullen and I agreed that double protection would be better. He doesn't trust me to protect Bella, and I don't trust him to protect you – so the only way to guarantee the safety of both of you will be if we're both there. I hate it, and I want nothing to do with him, but it makes the most sense."

"And Sam also said he won't lift the order and let you near my house until you can work something out to keep from phasing in and killing Edward…"

"Yeah, I guess there's that too," he scoffed. "But it's also because I just want to keep you safe, and I don't trust Cullen to do it. The others are all better around the Cullens than I am, but Sam's been keeping them away from the house just to respect me. But now that you know the truth, he's gonna start sending one of the boys there every night to patrol. So even with Cullen there in your sister's room, I'm gonna have one of the boys keeping an eye on _you_ for me."

"Not Jake, right?"

"No, Jake's not allowed there at night 'cause Sam doesn't trust him to keep from freaking out 'cause Cullen's in your sister's room. It's probably gonna be Jared; he's the main one in the pack I'd trust with your life."

"Is anyone here now?" she asked, climbing off of her bed and walking to her window to peek out of it. A cold chill ran through her as she thought about someone watching her from those thick trees behind her house.

Paul chuckled softly, "Quil's running around. He's not staying outside of your house, but he's on Forks duty tonight so he's running around everywhere, and will stop by your house every so often to check up on you."

Closing her curtains at once, Marilyn walked back to her bed, "So before the Cullens returned you guys have hung outside of our house and looked up into our rooms?"

"No," he laughed; she imagined him shaking his head from side to side. "We just ran through, and stopped by every so often. Now that I've imprinted on you though, I'm gonna just camp outside your house to make sure Cullen stays the hell away from you and to make sure that Victoria doesn't go anywhere near the house too. One of the others will most likely actually patrol the area."

"And you'll let me know when those nights are?"

"I can," he said nonchalantly. "Why?"

Becoming flustered, Marilyn hesitated momentarily before finally admitting, "I have a habit of sleeping with my window open to let in the breeze, and I keep the curtains open too since I wake up at five anyways. But I also sleep topless…"

"Oh," he feel eerily silent, and then when he spoke again it came out husky; it had Marilyn's entire body shivering as her stomach heated up and felt herself growing wet, "Yeah, I'll give you a head's up, but maybe you should start closing your curtains from now on. The boys are all planning on hanging out for a few minutes each time they circle back to your house just to keep an eye on your room for me. Or maybe sleep with a top on. I like that too."

"I feel like I'm being choked…" she muttered, tugging at the shirt she was wearing now. "I'll just start closing my curtains," when Paul didn't reply, Marilyn asked, "Do you think you'll be able to do it – get used to Edward?"

"I think so," he said gruffly, clearly not liking this plan at all. "It's the only way to make it easier on me and you. I'm not gonna start being his friend or anything, or get along with him either, but I'm willing to get used to his scent."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"He said he'll meet me in the forest once I'm ready to start training my nose to accept his scent, which will probably be in a day or two since you know the truth now and I'll be settled enough 'cause I can at least hear your voice and talk to you over the phone. We're gonna spend as much time in the forest as I can handle, just staring at each other 'til I finally stop phasing. Once that happens, we can both watch your house on the same nights."

"And 'til then?"

"He said he's willing to alternate nights with me, but he told me that he'll wait 'til I talk to you first to see how you feel about it. If you're freaked out about everything and you don't want me anywhere near you he's not leaving, but if you would prefer me hanging around every other night then he'll stay at his house and I'll be outside," he sounded frustrated at the thought of having to owe anything to the Cullens; to have to be helped out by one of them and have to admit they're decent enough.

"That's actually kinda nice of him…"

"Yeah," he snorted, "Well as a mind reader he knows exactly how you feel about him. Apparently, this is also his way of trying to get back in your good graces."

"Did he say that?"

"He made sure Bella couldn't hear him, but yeah he admitted that to the pack that night. He doesn't blame you for hating him, and it's why he tries his best to stay away from you, but as his mate's little sister he wants you on his side and he wants you to not hate him anymore. He's hoping that by being a nice guy and trying to help me out and showing that he's not a total asshole you'll slowly start to like him again like how you did in the beginning. I'm kinda just hoping that as my girl you'll just keep picturing his head being set on fire every time you see him."

Feeling her heart fluttering inside of her chest when Paul called her his girl again, for the second time that day, Marilyn chuckled, "Yeah, well it's gonna take a lot more than trying to help you get used to his scent so you can calm down and be near me to get me to ever like him again."

"Good girl," remaining silent for a minute, as if soaking in everything they've just discussed, Paul sounded intrigued by her, "So I heard that you like to work because you don't like having to ask anyone for anything?"

Chuckling, she said, "Yeah."

"That's actually pretty cool."

Shrugging her shoulders, feeling odd as she did so because she was still lying on her side now, Marilyn said, "I just don't want to have to ask my dad for money every time I want or need something. I had a job back in Phoenix too, so I didn't have to ask my mom or stepdad for anything either."

"What did you do there?"

"I worked in a little bookshop for a few hours after school," she explained, "It wasn't too bad; I liked it at least."

"Weren't you already fifteen when you moved out here?"

"I was still fourteen," she chuckled. "My birthday's in May, and we moved out here in January. In Phoenix you could get a worker's permit at fourteen, so I did that. It wasn't too bad – I made $8.25 an hour, and I worked four hours Monday through Thursday, and Saturdays I worked for seven hours," she made $367.39 a paycheck once taxes were taken out, but at only fourteen the only bill she had to pay was her phone bill, so it wasn't as if she needed the tips then like she does now. It was enough to satisfy her.

"Nice! So, your birthday is next month then?"

"Yeah, on the sixth."

"So, it's your sweet sixteen since you're the same age as us, right?"

Laughing at the slightly eager tone in Paul's voice, Marilyn said, "Yeah, I guess."

"What were your plans?"

"Honestly, I was just planning on calling Jake to see if he wanted to go to First Beach that day."

"What?" Paul sounded completely bewildered. "You're turning sixteen, Marilyn – it's your _sweet sixteen_! I thought all girls made huge deals out of their sixteenth birthdays?!"

"I never really thought about it," she admitted in amusement, finding his reaction comical. "It's a Saturday, so I know I'm gonna be off that day 'cause I'm always off on Saturdays, and I also knew that my sister was gonna be too busy with Edward and ignoring me that she wouldn't care or wanna do anything either 'cause she's not really into holidays or birthdays in general. And my dad's not really into parties or anything like that either. He's probably gonna take me out for breakfast, give me a present, and then go fishing with Billy or probably even your dad, and then get drunk. And I have a few friends at school, but they kinda all annoy me so we're mostly just friends that talk once in a while in school and sometimes eat lunch together."

"So, you were depending on _Jake_?"

"I mean we never really hung out before like he and Bella did, but he's still my friend and he doesn't annoy me like my other friends do. Plus, I really like the beach, and it should be sunny enough by then to go and spend the day there. Now that you're involved, and so are the rest of the pack, you're all obviously invited too."

"Gee, how nice…" he said dryly, and then he added, "That's so boring, Marilyn. You can always go to the beach any day that you want to. This is your birthday; your _sweet sixteen_," he kept enunciating those two words together as if they were meant to be important. "You need to have an actual party; not just spend the day at the beach."

"Shouldn't your birthday be spent with people you like doing something you like rather than just doing something big?" she questioned in curiosity, unable to understand why turning sixteen was such a huge deal. It's not as if she was turning eighteen or twenty-one. "I liked Jake, so I wanted to hang out with him, and now that I know all of you and I like all of you I want all of you there too. And Emily can come too because I already know I'll like her," and she was apparently only nineteen, only three years older than the others, so it wasn't as if Emily would find it annoying to spend the day with a bunch of sixteen year olds, and one fourteen year old, "And I like the beach. That sounds like a good birthday to me."

"You're easy to please, aren't you?" he said after thinking for a few seconds.

"Pretty much," mused Marilyn in agreement.

"So, you don't want your sister there?"

"No, I didn't say that," she frowned instantly. "I would love it if Bella were there; I miss her. But even before finding out the truth about everything I already knew she wouldn't want to come. Even if she hadn't been ignoring me or pulling away from me she wouldn't have come 'cause I made it known I hate Edward now, and Bella made it known she won't do anything without him at her side, and Edward made it known since last year that he doesn't like entering La Push at all. I was already expecting her to just stay away and not spend the day with me," her frown deepened, and she sighed softly, "But now that I know the truth of the situation, I know for sure that she won't be there because of Edward."

"Why don't – why don't you just do something with her in Forks instead?" he asked in a frustrated tone. He could hear her frustration over her sister, and there was nothing he could do about it to help her out.

Running a hand through her hair and taking a sip from her tea, Marilyn shook her head as if he could see her over the phone, "Because I wanna go to the beach. We were close once, practically inseparable, and there was a time when she was a really good sister. But ever since Edward came back, she changed, and she's not my Isabella anymore, and as much as it bothers me, I know that I can't do anything about it; she made her choice. But I'm not gonna let it ruin my birthday."

"I still think we should do something else," it was obvious that Paul was conflicted. He knew how much Marilyn wanted her sister to be a part of her birthday, but he also knew how complicated everything was and had become overnight; Bella was pulling away, and Marilyn finally knew why. "We could go bowling in Forks?"

"If I stay in Forks, and Bella does show up by some miracle she's gonna have Edward with him, and that would honestly ruin my entire birthday; I don't want him there."

"Maybe he'll stay away if the entire pack is there, and Emily?" there was a hopeful tone in his voice, but Marilyn knew that even Paul knew it was unlikely that Edward would allow Bella to go anywhere on her own.

Snorting, Marilyn said, "Yeah, but then Bella's gonna be all awkward and uncomfortable 'cause of how she turned against all of you, so she's probably gonna be miserable and then end up leaving."

"Oh…"

"Thanks," she said softly with a depressed smile, "But since Edward got back, I've gotten used to this, and I just don't expect to have my sister involved with my birthday. Seriously, I was already planning on spending the day in La Push at the beach with Jake even before finding out all of this."

"Well I still think we should do something more than just the beach," he told her persistently. "What if we barbeque at the beach in the day, and then at night we can all go bowling? The bowling alley on the rez starts their cosmic bowl at eight, and it looks pretty cool. We could do that if you want to?"

"Bowling?" she asked, struggling to remember the last time she'd been bowling before. "God, I don't think I've gone bowling in years. I think I was in the seventh grade…"

"Does that sound like fun then?" he asked eagerly, as if hoping that she liked his idea.

Laughing, Marilyn said, "Yeah, it actually does. We can ask the others if they'll be up for it."

"I can find out the next time I phase in," he said excitedly. "You said the sixth, right?"

"Yeah," listening to Paul once again repeat how he would find out from the others if they wanted to spend her birthday barbequing at First Beach and then go cosmic bowling that night, Marilyn said, "So not to get rid of the good mood right now, but I just have a quick question."

Shutting up at once, Paul said, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just – well… Jared warned me you'd be possessive and territorial, and you also warned me about that despite me making it known I'm not your property."

"Yeah, because I don't want to lie to you."

"Well, it's just – you're not going to _trap _me, are you?"

"Huh?"

Hearing the genuine confusion in Paul's voice, Marilyn felt almost guilty for bringing this up, but she needed to know about this; it was bothering her. "I see how Edward treats Bella, and she might think it's romantic that he takes the engine out of her truck to keep her from driving out to La Push to see Jake, but I see that as controlling and manipulative."

"He did _what_?!" Paul sounded pissed now; apparently Bella hadn't filled Jacob in on that part.

"Yeah, it was like a week after he got back. I saw him pulling it out when I came home from work one night, but I ignored it 'cause I thought he was fixing it or whatever. The next morning, Bella tried to start it and it wouldn't turn on, so I told her I saw Edward take out her engine. When she confronted him about it, he simply just said that he didn't want her to see Jake. I got pissed, but Bella calmed down and said she thought it was cute that he was jealous because it meant that he loved her alot. I don't think that's cute; I think that's kinda scary. You're not gonna get possessive like that, are you? I'm not gonna become a prisoner of my own house, am I?" her voice had lowered, and she didn't mean to but she allowed Paul to hear the genuine fear in her voice as she asked the question; she truly was afraid he would treat her in the same way that Edward treated Bella.

"Hell no!" with a throaty growl in his voice, Paul sounded completely aggravated, "That's pushing it too much, and I would never do something like that! If I don't want you to go somewhere or to be with someone I'm not gonna take apart your fucking car; I'm gonna tell you I don't want you to go or be with that person. I'm stupid enough to probably start an argument or even throw a tantrum and pout about it, but I promise I'm gonna have a legit reason and excuse for it – not just 'cause I'm being a dick. But I'm not ever gonna take your car apart just to keep you stranded!"

"I can live with that," she said breathily, sighing a little in relief; she believed him. She couldn't explain it, but she just knew that Paul would never lie to her – the only person in her life that would never tell a lie. He may hide things from her, but he would never lie. She didn't even have to ask him, she just already knew he wouldn't. "I can deal with a tantrum and an argument, 'cause I can promise you I'll be the same way."

"That's normal," he told her; his voice was still angry.

"It is," she agreed. "Okay, so you wouldn't do something like that. But what about taking away my phone? I would literally hit you so hard if you ever dared tried to take my phone away from me, and I would never give it up willingly especially when you're not the one paying my damn bill, but would you ever attempt to take my phone from me just to keep me from talking to someone?"

"Did he – did he seriously take her fucking phone away too?!"

"Jake kept blowing up her phone one day, and Edward got pissed so he took it from her and held onto it for three days. My dad got pissed 'cause Bella wasn't answering whenever he would call her, and there were a few times when I would call her to see if she needed something from the store or if she wanted me to bring her home food from the diner, and Edward would answer instead. I wanted to kill him, but Bella thought that it was adorable how he was jealous enough to not want her to talk to another guy. I thought that was creepy as hell, and signs of an abusive psychopath. That is not allowed, but are you that kinda guy?"

"Hell no!" he said loudly in an offended voice; she was insulting him now. "That wouldn't have even crossed my mind! You're about to be sixteen, and you work and go to school – obviously you're gonna need your phone on you at all times in case something happens or in case your dad tries calling you! And that's just – what the hell?!" at least he seemed perplexed; taking away her phone truly hadn't crossed his mind. "Yeah, I don't want you talking to other guys, but I'll tell you I don't want you talking to other guys and then I already have a strong feeling you'll push it and there will be a long argument and conversation about it, but I wouldn't take it as far as to take away your damn phone; I have no right to. And I wouldn't want you taking my phone away from me either! I would hope you'd trust me enough to know I wouldn't do anything, and I do trust you enough to know you wouldn't do anything either! It's one thing to get jealous and be possessive and beat the shit out of the other guy, but it's another to act like _that_!"

"Okay, I like that; that's good…" thinking of other things she'd witnessed from her sister and Edward, remembering things that her sister thought was sweet and romantic while she thought it was too controlling and showed signs of Edward becoming abusive in the future, Marilyn said, "Well you already said you wouldn't get in the way of my job, and you even admitted you hated me flirting in the future but that you understand I need my tips, so I don't have to ask if you're gonna try to force me to quit my job."

"Is that why she's not working down at the sport's shop anymore?"

"Edward said that he wanted to spend more time with her, and that he has money for anything she needs. Again – I do not approve of that!"

"How in the hell are you two sisters?! Bella's just allowing him to treat her like that?! I wouldn't even dare treat you like that, and just from talking to you now and earlier I already know that you'd find a way to beat my ass and make me regret ever living if I dared to do something like that to you."

Grinning amusedly, finding it entertaining that Paul managed to pick up that much about her at least, Marilyn proudly said, "I would – I really would."

"So, she actually quit her job just because Cullen wanted to spend more time with her, and then she willingly agreed to just let him support her?"

"Yep."

"I'm all for supporting you. If you wanna quit your job, and you want me to start supporting you I won't complain, but then we'll barely ever see each other 'cause I'm gonna have to pick up a second job if that's the case," when Marilyn started laughing, Paul chuckled jokingly, "So hell, I'm all for you working and paying your own bills. I wouldn't complain about taking care of you, but I ain't complaining about having you take care of yourself. We're sixteen; why in the hell am I gonna start supporting you now?"

"I don't get it either. Bella thinks he's such a gentleman and that it's so romantic of him to want to keep her with him at all times. You're not gonna be like that, are you? I mean I know that we have to-"

"No, nope, not like that. Give me two or three hours to see you physically whenever it's possible or a few hours a day to talk to you on the phone daily, or even just texting like we've been doing since Thursday, or just let me run past your house so I can hear your voice and know that you're okay, and I'm good. That's enough to satisfy the bond, and that's enough to satisfy me. Yeah sure, I wouldn't mind spending an entire day with you, but we both have things to do; we're busy people. In the beginning it's gonna be hard, but once we get used to this we can even go a week or two without seeing each other and we'll be fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he chuckled in amusement at her surprise. "I mean, I wouldn't deny you if you wanted to spend twenty-four hours with me, and hell if you wanna stick to my side like glue then I'm all for it. And there will be times where I'll probably call you just to see you, but I won't _expect _it from you; for you to devote all of your time to me and only me. You have a family, so be with them. You have a job, so work. We go to different schools, so learn and get good grades or whatever. You want me, I'm here for you. It's as simple as that."

"I really really like that, Paul. This whole thing between us is gonna work out just perfectly, because I am honestly the same way," she admitted, shocked to hear his outtake on how their relationship would work.

"It's gonna be rocky in the beginning," he warned her, "With the imprint still new, we're gonna get antsy and we'll have to figure it out at first. And right now with Victoria on the hunt, I probably will bug you with how clingy I'm gonna be, and I'm gonna be crazy and probably stalk your job or figure out a way to keep you at my side at all times so I can make sure you're okay, so everything I just said before this probably won't kick in 'til everything settles down."

Laughing when she heard the sudden warning, and the urgent worry in Paul's voice, Marilyn felt her nerves beginning to relax; she had nothing to worry about because he was nothing like Edward, "I can accept that, Paul," she told him with a smile in her voice. "I get it; the whole freaking out thing. Honestly, hearing everything earlier I started to freak out 'cause I realized that you're hunting down a vampire and you could get hurt. So, for now I'll probably be okay with you stalking my job and being clingy and constantly trying to keep me at your side at all times 'cause I'll know that you're okay too. We're still learning, but once everything settles down I just wanna know that you're not gonna be psychotic and expect me to lose everyone in my life and focus on only you – that you being crazy won't continue past this once everything gets settled and we're no longer in danger."

"I've always been crazy, sweetheart; temperamental and possessive was used to describe me before the fever kicked in, but no – I'm not gonna be like Cullen. I can't promise you that you won't want to strangle me sometimes, or feel like I'm closing you in either, but it will never reach to that extent; I will never try to manipulate you or control you. And if for a second you begin to think that I am then tell me, and I'll step back."

"Okay," she smiled, "I will. Because I don't like Edward for those reasons too; not just 'cause of what he did. It's because of how acts now; still yet. And my sister thinks it's sweet, but I don't. If you wanna be sweet, surprise me at work on my lunch break or something, or send me a random text. Don't stalk me and control my life and isolate me from the people that love me."

"I wouldn't dare!"

"Okay, good," playing with the hem of her shirt, feeling that it was only fair that she warn Paul now since she just asked him all these questions to find out what kind of mate he would be towards her, Marilyn sighed softly, "So it's only fair to warn you…"

"That you're weird?"

Laughing, she shook her head, "Well yeah, but no. I'm used to being by myself most times because I'm always busy. I've always kept myself busy, and even when surrounded by other people I'll sometimes isolate myself without realizing it by sitting in a corner with my music and a sketchbook. It's why I don't really have friends I would want to spend my birthday with other than Jake and now you guys. I seriously hate being alone, and empty houses have always bothered me since I was a kid, but I like being alone in the sense that people will be in another room and I'll just lock myself in my own room and keep to myself. Sometimes I get so immersed in a book or a tv show or a sketch that I don't even hear my phone ringing, and sometimes my head is so full of thoughts that I can walk right past my own sister or dad and not even see them," she sighed embarrassingly, "Basically I might ignore you without meaning to. My phone could literally be ringing right next to me, and if I'm caught up in something, I literally will not hear it. Or if my head is so filled, I could look straight into your eyes and still not see you. I just – I don't want you to think I'm doing it intentionally. Once I snap out of it, I promise I'll call you back and apologize."

At first Paul was quiet, and Marilyn began to grow afraid that she pissed him off with the threat of ignoring him eventually and he phased in and took off running, but then she heard him laughing. "Y-Yeah…" he sounded completely amused right now, "Jake, uhh… Jake actually warned me about that on Thursday. He said there's been a few times he would go to your house, and tell you hey and you'd just ignore him 'cause you were reading or something like that. Then six hours later you'd look up and ask him when he got there… when he's been sitting next to you all day. And he said something about a time when you went to his house, and then just made yourself comfortable literally under the kitchen table and kept to yourself until your sister had to pull your sketchbook out of your hands and then drag you out by your ankles because you were still in your own world."

"Oh really?" she was burning a bright shade of red on her bed.

"Yeah," his laughter turned into joyful chuckles now, "He was afraid it would set me off, so he wanted to warn me. I think that'll be one of the things that will annoy me in the beginning, but then eventually I'll get used to it and start having to drag you out from under tables too."

"Tables are fun to lay under because nobody bothers you," she said in a serious tone. "And Jake's floor is comfortable."

"It's gonna take us a while to get used to each other, sweetheart."

"Yeah," she nodded in agreement, "It is. But for real though, I know you're gonna be freaking out 'cause of the whole Victoria thing, so what's gonna happen if I don't hear my phone 'til hours later?"

"If the order's still on I'll just send one of the boys to run there and check on you," his voice was a bit reluctant now. "I-I wanna say it's kinda cute how you can get so immersed into something and tune out the rest of the world, but at the moment it's a bit dangerous and kind of a nuisance."

"I know…" she chuckled lightly. "I don't really care for tv too much, so I watch my shows after the season's already finished on tv and it's on Netflix, or sometimes I'll watch them on hulu a week or two after they aired. So usually when I'm getting caught up in a season, Bella yanks my laptop away from me and then lets me calm down after snapping at her. And when I'm reading or sketching it takes me a minute or two to realize she took those away from me too. But that's when she's trying to get my attention in person; the phone thing usually takes a while until she reaches me personally to take my things away or until I stop on my own and look at my phone."

"Well since I know you're in school and when at work you can't really check your phone all the time, if you don't pick up my call, I'll text you. I'll give you an hour to text me back with something to let me know you're busy or whatever, and then I'll either run down myself or have one of the boys do it. If the scent in your area is clean, and we can hear you, then I'll just text you to call me or text me back when you're back in the real world again or when you can catch a break. Is that okay with you?"

Giddy because he asked for her permission, making sure that she was alright with him giving her a time limit before sending someone to check on her, Marilyn smiled from ear to ear, "Yeah, I'm okay with that."

"What does Bella usually do if you can't see her 'cause you're thinking too much?"

"Wait…" she shrugged. "She hasn't figured that one out yet. She's tried shaking me, snapping her fingers, hitting me, pouring water on me, pushing me into things and down, and she's even tried screaming that there was a fire – nothing worked. I can function, and I can cook and clean and shower and everything, but I don't notice anyone else around me no matter what. When I get like that it's best to just wait it out. The longest I've been like that before was five hours."

"Is that normal?"

"My stepdad rushed me to the hospital once when I was thirteen 'cause nobody bothered to warn him, and he was still just dating my mom at the time and it hadn't happened in front of him in the year he knew me, and the doctors said that it's kind of like sleepwalking but it happens to a person when they're awake and their minds are so heavy and filled that they can't hear or see past their thoughts. It's not that rare, but it's not that common either."

"Oh wow…"

"Bella thinks our mom was on drugs when pregnant with us both," she admitted, never having told anyone this before. "I can zone people out with meaning to or planning it, and it happens at random moments, and she gets really bad anxiety attacks where she fainted a few times because of it. And sometimes her hands get really fidgety when nervous about something so her body starts to shake because of it. When she gets like that it's best to just talk to her calmly and let her ride it out 'cause we learned that if you grab her hands and stop it it only worsens later on to the point where she'll probably faint."

"Holy shit, seriously?! I saw her fidget a few times before, but I didn't really think anything of it."

"Yeah, she's always been like that. It's another reason why I don't really care for Edward too much – he's always stopping her hands. She hasn't fainted yet, that I know of, but I've seen him stop her hands a few times to the point where a few hours later I would either find her curled up and rocking while biting on her thumb or I'd find her literally on her hands and knees and scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush."

"Holy shit!"

"Yeah… we're both weird."

"I wanna be a nice guy and say that's not weird, but I got nothing…"

Laughing, Marilyn said, "It's alright; I know I'm weird. I've accepted it."

"I've noticed," he laughed as well. Smiling in adoration as she listened to Paul laughing, Marilyn made the mistake of yawning. "Are you tired?" he asked at once.

"Kind of…" she hated to admit it, but she felt content and relaxed now – she had talked to Paul and he gave her a peaceful mind and eased most of her worries about their relationship, and she could fall asleep easily now because her stomach was no longer twisting. She would have to ask Emily about this when she finally met her, which Sam kept trying to push onto her earlier at Jacob's house – did the imprint work both ways? Paul already warned her that she would miss him too, and that he would take over her thoughts, but would she only be satisfied with conversations and being near each other too? Was Paul not the only one that had a craving to be fed – would she feel for him how he apparently felt for her? She would ask him, but she knew that only another imprint would understand what she meant in the same way that he told her only Sam would understand how he felt… and that scared the hell out of her. "I have to work at eight, and it's," she pulled her phone away from her ear to check the time, "Holy shit – it's a little after two," how in the hell have they been talking for three hours?!

"You should have told me. Go to sleep, Marilyn," he chuckled, though he also sounded surprised to hear how late it was. "I'll talk to you tomorrow… well, later today I guess."

She wanted to keep talking to him as much as she wanted to sleep, and somehow she knew instinctively that if she asked him to keep talking to her until she fell asleep he'd have no problem doing so, but that felt like things were moving too quickly to soon before they got to know more things about each other… and it seemed a little _too_ corny and weird to her – to have him talk to her until she slept. So instead she yawned again, and smiled, "Okay, 'night Paul," it was a habit to say goodnight to someone she was hanging up with just so she could fall asleep.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," never before had someone wished her a goodnight in such a way, and it had Marilyn practically squealing girlishly inside.

That night she fell asleep the easiest she had ever fallen asleep in her life as Paul's image haunted her closed eyes, and his deep voice trembled in her ears. Once again, she dreamt of the giant charcoal grey and silver wolf, but this time it was alone – in this dream it was just the wolf with his human girl as they strolled through a forest together; she rode on his back.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I know, I know… I'm lame… I didn't post chapters over the past two weekends! I'm so sorry about that too! I don't have any excuse, other than the fact that I got so busy with school and work, that I completely forgot about it until tonight when I was laying down after showering… I'm so sorry!**

Chapter Five

Waking up the next morning at 6:30 to her phone's alarm crowing like a rooster, Marilyn groaned loudly because it felt as if she just shut her eyes – four and half hours of sleep was not enough. Sitting up in bed, pushing the covers off of herself and glancing at the window, she decided she'd need darker curtains; the bright yellow might not be enough to keep the peering wolves outside from being able to see into her room. Muttering to herself that she was so not in the mood for this right now, she grabbed her phone once it began to beep with a text message. Instantly her face lit up, and she could feel herself cheering up; it wasn't such a bad morning after all.

Climbing out of her bed slowly, choosing to ignore the cold air and window for now, she rolled up her hair, and keeping her phone in her hand she left her room to go downstairs and eat something before getting ready for work since she hadn't eaten anything since the pizza the day before; and even then she only had a single slice. Her appetite had disappeared after finding out the truth of everything, and only Billy's chamomile tea managed to sedate her.

_Inbox: Paul_

_Good morning, sweetheart!_

Sweetheart – it was practically outdated and rarely used by young people anymore, and it had Marilyn over the fucking moon!

_Sent: Paul_

_Good morning (:_

She'd just sat down at the table with a bowl of cereal, and a cup of hot black tea when her phone began to ring with the text message alert again. She quickly put it on vibrate to keep from waking up her dad. On Sundays he usually came home around five in the morning, so he should be sleeping right now, and she didn't feel like having to talk to him about who she was texting at six something in the morning.

_Inbox: Paul_

_I didn't wake you up did I?_

_Sent: Paul_

_No, my alarm went off a few minutes before you texted me. You're up early._

_Inbox: Paul_

_I've been up since 6. I start work at 7._

_Sent: Paul_

_Oh that's right, you're a mechanic down at Quil's grandfather's gas station. So you work today?_

_Inbox: Paul_

_Yep, 7-5. What time are you done at the diner today?_

_Sent: Paul_

_I'm off at 5 too._

_Sent: Paul_

_Why didn't you tell me you had to work at 7? We could've hung up earlier last night._

_Inbox: Paul_

_I wasn't tired. We don't really get tired anymore. We all tested it out in the beginning of when our own fevers kicked in & we can go up to 5 days with just 3 hours of sleep._

_Sent: Paul_

_Yeah but Sam told me you haven't been able to sleep since Wednesday night & that you're gonna crash hard soon…_

_Inbox: Paul_

_I managed to fall asleep after we hung up last night, so I caught up on it and got my 3 hours in. Plus an extra hour. I think I just needed to hear your voice._

_Sent: Paul_

_That sounds handy… I wish I could go 5 days with just 3 hours of sleep. And that's oddly sweet…_

_Inbox: Paul_

_Haha yeah it's not too bad. It's one of the things we like about this. We also like our new strengths, speed, and the muscles._

_Sent: Paul_

_The muscles aren't too bad._

_Inbox: Paul_

_So I heard in the diner that night (;_

_Sent: Paul_

_Oh shut up… _

_Sent: Paul_

_I also admired everyone else's muscles._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Yeah but you didn't talk about their arms the same way you talked about mine. You like my arms, sweetheart._

_Sent: Paul_

_Don't be an ass, Paul. It's too early to be an ass._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Haha fine. So are you getting ready for work already?_

_Sent: Paul_

_I'm eating cereal, but I'm gonna start getting ready soon. It's almost 7 though so I'll let you get to work already._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Ok. Text me when you get to the diner._

_Sent: Paul_

_Sure (:_

Once she finished her cereal, eating a second bowl as well because her hunger kicked in, Marilyn left her bowl in the sink and ran upstairs to start getting ready for work. Her dad hadn't left his room yet, meaning he was still sleeping, so she tried her best to keep from making too much noise, but she still turned on her iPod and speakers to listen to music while getting dressed once she had managed to take a quick shower to wake herself up and put on her eyeliner and lipstick; once again she wasn't in the mood for the foundation and concealer because at work she tended to sweat. She had the waterproof makeup, spending the extra $2 on brands, but she just couldn't be bothered with it this morning.

Entering her room with just a towel on, and her hair French braided back into two pigtails then tied up into a tight bun with a white bandana tied upside down this morning, Marilyn glanced in the direction of the window. Feeling like an idiot for pretty much talking to herself, but still seeing how light her bright yellow curtains were, Marilyn also knew that if there was someone out there they'd be able to hear her, "Umm… Paul said someone would be running around the house. I don't know if there's someone there right now, watching the house or running past right now, but my curtains are light colored and don't really block everything, and I'm only in a towel. Please go away so I can get dressed…"

Giving it a minute just in case there had been someone there, Marilyn ended up walking across to her dresser and quickly pulled on her underwear and socks first. Then she dropped the towel and pulled on her uniform. Admiring how adorable she looked this morning, she grabbed her phone and snapped a quick picture of herself in the mirror before uploading it to her instagram and facebook.

_Feeling cute & on point this rainy morning! #readyforwork #ootdwhenyoureawaitress #dinergirl #canitakeyourorder_

Wearing a pink and black jacket that fell to her thighs, Marilyn double checked to make sure she had her purse and everything she would need for work, and then grabbed her shoes. She didn't feel like getting into trouble with her boss because her shoes were dirty from the rain and mud, so she always wore other footwear and then changed them in the diner's backroom. So, this morning she pulled on her usual black knee-high boots. Once ready for work, and positive she had everything, she ran into the kitchen to refill her water bottle and then pulled up her jacket's hood and ran out to her car while making the beep beep to have it already unlocked and ready for her.

_Sent: Paul_

_Hey, I just got to the diner. I'm about to clock in._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Ok, have a good day!_

_Sent: Paul_

_Thanks (: you too…_

_Inbox: Paul_

_I doubt it, I'm stuck with Jared's ugly ass all day._

_Sent: Paul_

_Haha_

_Inbox: Paul_

_Oh, by the way… you need to buy darker curtains._

_Sent: Paul_

_Haha so there was somebody there? I thought I was crazy for talking to myself just in case there was no one there._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Yeah, it was Embry. He just reached your house and looked up at your window when he heard you. He took off then phased out to call me and tell me. He thought it was funny._

_Sent: Paul_

_I just wanted to make sure I didn't flash anyone._

_Inbox: Paul_

_And I appreciate that._

She'd had boyfriends in the past, boyfriends that she knew for a fact were nice guys when it came to girls; boyfriends that she had never suspected of being the type of guy to forget a chick's name, but not one of them had ever wished her a good day before. She would text them when she got to work, and they would just reply with okay or tell her to call them on her break – Paul was literally the first guy other than her stepdad or birth dad to ever tell her have a good day at work. And he was also the first guy, other than Phil or Charlie, to ask her to let her know once she got in – he cared, and it wasn't in a creepy way.

It seemed so odd because they were only sixteen, well she was a month away from sixteen but nonetheless, but it also had her squealing inside. And it also may have had her squealing excitedly to the twenty-three year old cook that a boy just texted her to have a good day at work. Josh seemed amused, but he didn't fall into Marilyn's excitement like she did. After a few minutes he told her to shut and start taking orders already.

Today had been so crowded from when she came in to work that Marilyn didn't even have time to check her phone for the time or whenever she felt it vibrating in her pocket. There were people from La Push, Port Angeles, and for some reason even people from Seattle had come into Forks today. And because of the rainy weather elderly people had come in wanting tomato soup; a specialty of the diner. There were kids from the high school coming in to hang out and keep out of the rain, and there were families with small kids that couldn't take them to the parks but wanted to bring them out of the house for a short while at least.

It was only one o'clock, and she had already made $198.51 in tips.

"You can take your break now, Marilyn."

Looking up from where she was entering in a customer's payment into the register, Marilyn found her manager standing next to her, "Are you sure, Ken?"

Nodding his head, he looked around the diner, "It's pretty slow right now, but it'll pick up again around two for the late lunch hour. Now's the best time for you to take your lunch."

"Okay," she nodded back, "Let me just finish with this table."

"Sure thing."

Poking his head out from where the little opening in the wall separated the kitchen from behind the front counter, Josh looked out at Marilyn so she wouldn't have to walk into the kitchen, "You want me to start making your usual, Marilyn?" her meatball sandwich with bacon, bell peppers, and mushrooms added in it, with a side of coleslaw and curly fries.

"Yes, sir," she grinned.

Chuckling, he gave her a knowing smile, "Extra sauce?"

"You treat me so well, Josh!"

With her tips thrown into her purse in her locker, and her apron also in her locker for now, Marilyn refilled her water bottle since that was what she drank from while working, and also made herself a cup of hot tea, and then grabbed her plate from Josh as he pushed it through the little tiny window for her. With her phone in hand, and her headphones over her head so she could listen to her iPod and ignore the customers for now since she was on her lunch break, Marilyn sat in the very far back corner in a two-person booth by herself. She took a quick picture of her plate of food, her drinks, and she made sure to also catch her iPod in the picture.

_FOOD! #foodandmusic #nomnomnom #meatballbaconbellpeppermushroomburgerwithextrasauce #finallyonbreak_

Once her picture was posted, she noticed that she had notifications on both her facebook and instagram; new friend requests. She also noticed she had three text messages.

_Inbox: Bella_

_You still get off at 5 today, right?_

_Inbox: Paul_

_I'm on my break right now. Are you on your break already too? We can talk for a bit if you are._

_Inbox: Jake_

_Paul figured out you have an IG & FB so now you're gonna have new requests. I stopped in at the garage to talk to them about something & he saw me liking your picture…_

Noticing that Paul texted her an hour ago to ask if she was on her break yet, she felt herself sighing before she could stop herself. It seemed so ridiculous to look forward to talk to him on her break, when they only really talked for the first time last night, but then she remembered how he warned her that the effects of the imprint would kick in – it seemed to kick in quickly. She was beginning to miss him, think about him; she sort of almost… craved him.

It didn't make any sense.

She also found Jacob's text to be entertaining, and it also explained all her notifications.

_Sent: Paul_

_It was so busy all morning that they just let me on break right now._

_Sent: Bella_

_Yeah. Remember that I don't want him there._

_Sent: Jake_

_Haha yeah I've noticed. It's cool!_

Not bothering with putting her phone down yet so she could check out the instagram and facebook notifications to hurry up and just accept them already, Marilyn ate her curly fries and coleslaw mostly since that only consisted of one hand for right now.

_ sethyseth has requested to follow you_

_ embry has requested to follow you_

_ quilatearaiv has requested to follow you_

_ emilyandsam has requested to follow you_

_ jc has requested to follow you_

_ paul has requested to follow you_

There were a few likes on her picture from that morning, and on her food already, and there were also comments left on her pictures from her friends and followers, which were also only people that she knew and considered as friends or considered okay enough to follow her, but the only things that had stuck out to her were the new follow requests; the whole pack wanted to see her pictures.

It seemed that now that the truth about the imprint was out in the open, and now that she and Paul had broken their stranger barrier with a late night phone call, and a nickname, it seemed like the others all deemed it appropriate timing to find her on instagram after discovering through Jacob that like all teenaged girls she had one.

Ignoring all of the likes and comments on her pictures, she accepted them all, and then requested to follow them all back. She didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved that their pages were all as private as hers was. She couldn't see any of the pictures they posted, but she could still see their default pictures, profile names, and the little description beneath their names. And it amused her even more that the emilyandsam page was obviously run by Emily and not Sam; they hadn't even met yet, but even Emily deemed it appropriate to want to follow the younger girl.

Paul's picture was of him sitting on the top bars of his jeep, wearing a white long sleeved shirt and faded blue jeans; he seemed to be flexing his muscles for some reason. He was grinning down at whoever took the picture of him. He looked handsome in this picture, and he was already bulky with short hair, so she knew the fever had already kicked in when this was taken.

_paul_

_261 posts, 49 followers, 53 following_

_Paul Lahote_

_16 yrs old, sophomore at La Push High…_

Smiling softly to herself because of how simple Paul seemed, and because of how little people he would allow to follow him and see his pictures, despite posting a slightly large amount of pictures, Marilyn exited his page and then clicked into her own.

Clicking into her own profile, wondering if she should change her picture or just leave it alone, Marilyn felt conceited when she saw how hot she looked in her profile photo. It was a selfie, and focused mostly on her face and cleavage as she leaned into her phone to take the picture, but she loved it because of how hot she looked in it; almost like an old school pinup girl in a way. Her hair fell around her messily, draping over her right shoulder, and she ran her fingers through the bangs so they were sticking up as if she had sex hair, and she was wearing thicker lines of eyeliner than she usually does, and she also put on mascara that day. Her eyes were on point, and seemed brighter than they ever have before in her life, with a perfectly arched brow. But she mostly loved how brightly red her lips were; the bright red contrasted so beautifully with the jet black hair she had that time because this picture was taken the day after she dyed it so it was still darker than dark. She looked so pale compared to her hair. For some reason it worked on her though instead of making her look as weird as she thought she would have looked. She was smiling close-mouthed. You could see the thickly thin strap of her dark yellow tank-top, and you couldn't see her breasts but you could see her cleavage line; it seemed a lot sexier this way than showing off her chest in the picture.

She decided to just keep this picture up. It was honestly her favorite picture of herself.

_ babyswan_

_1428 posts, 103 followers, 97 following_

_Marilyn Clarissa Swan_

_15yrs. Born in Forks, raised in Phoenix, living again in Forks._

Unlike a lot of other people she knew that had an instagram account, Marilyn only allowed people she actually knew and liked to follow her and see her pictures, and she also followed them back. Everybody she followed all followed her back as well, so it seemed to work out perfectly for her. Right now her following number was lower than her followers because neither of the others accepted her yet.

Still not bothering with the comments or likes on her pictures, Marilyn finally exited out of her instagram and went into facebook. She had a few comments and likes on her statuses and pictures, but she also had seven new friend requests – she laughed into her burger as she bit into it while putting her phone down onto the table.

_Jared Cameron – La Push High School_

_Paul Lahote – La Push High School_

_Embry Call – La Push High School_

_Quil Ateara IV – La Push High School_

_Seth Clearwater – La Push High School_

_Emily Young – Neah Bay High School_

_Sam Uley – La Push High School_

Taking a quick screenshot of her seven new friend requests, seeing that unlike their instagram account the original imprinted couple had their own separate facebooks, and then accepting them all, Marilyn ended up posting it to her instagram. They all seemed to accept her just in time for her to tag everyone; making her wonder if they were watching their phones and waiting.

_As someone who attends Forks High School & knows about the schools' rivalries I probably shouldn't find this so amusing! #ihavefriendsinallplaces #lapushboys #isemilynotalapushgirl #doicallheraneahbaygirl #iapparentlyhavenonewschoolpride #somethingseemsoffhere #sorryforks quilatearaiv embry paul jc sethyseth emilyandsam too bad I already have jake or else it could have been even funnier!_

Snickering to herself as she posted it to both instagram and facebook, Marilyn continued to take her time eating her lunch while listening to her iPod. She did exit out of both accounts though. Her phone remained silent for only a minute before it began to vibrate with a text message.

_Inbox: Paul_

_How long is your break?_

_Sent: Paul_

_I have another 25 mins._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Having fun with ig & fb?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Yep! (:_

_Inbox: Paul_

_It doesn't take much to please you, does it?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Haha nope, not really. For someone stereotyped into being high maintenance I'm pretty simple. I thought we discussed this last night?_

_Inbox: Paul_

_Haha I guess that's true. _

_Inbox: Paul_

_Would it count in the stalker category if I liked all of your pictures?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Haha no? Shouldn't you be working though?_

_Inbox: Paul_

_It's slow right now. We just finished up a truck & there's a car coming in in 20 mins so we're free 'til then._

_Sent: Paul_

_Oh that's cool._

_Inbox: Paul_

_You post a lot of pictures of food. All I see is food, your sister sleeping, food, exercise things, selfies, and more food. & your dad… I have always wondered what the chief looks like wearing a tiara. Thank you for that._

_Sent: Paul_

_It was a #tbt & I came across that picture of my dad playing dress up with Bella when she was 3 before we moved. & I like food a lot!_

_Inbox: Paul_

_If I have nightmares tonight it's on you!_

_Inbox: Paul_

_Your belly button's pierced?! You're not even 16 yet! Why the hell is your belly button pierced?!_

_Sent: Paul_

_Because I used to be really really fat & overweight so after I lost 100lbs I asked my mom to take me to pierce it. She's a hippy so she had no problem taking a 13yr old._

_Inbox: Paul_

_It's been pierced since you were 13?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Before I even entered the 8th grade…_

_Inbox: Paul_

_You lost 100lbs? Why?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Because at 12yrs old I weighed 238. I was seriously really overweight. I had 2 chins & everything. Jake knows._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Seriously?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Yeah I made me a myspace when I was 12 & added him. He saw the pictures. He also saw the progress pics as I was losing it._

_Inbox: Paul_

_No not that. I mean the weight thing. Why would you lose so much though? Is that healthy? You lost it all in a timespan right?_

_Sent: Paul_

_I lost it all that year. Phil helped me out a lot, which is why I really like him for my mom. It was healthy as I lost it._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Is that why there's a picture of a weight rack in your room?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Yep._

_Inbox: Paul_

_That's pretty cool I guess. I have a weight bench in my garage and punching bag. But not in my room._

_Sent: Paul_

_Is that how you got those arms?_

_Inbox: Paul_

_Hahahaha mostly. The fever helped a lot though._

_Sent: Paul_

_I saw what it did for Jake…_

_Sent: Paul_

_I gotta get back to work already, but I'll talk to you later._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Are you still gonna talk to your sister tonight?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Yeah she texted me earlier. I reminded her not to bring Edward over or else I'm gonna take off._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Take off to where?_

_Sent: Paul_

_Probably to Jake's. Billy won't mind. There were times when I first got my car that I'd show up randomly at their house just to sleep 'cause I went to the beach._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Yeah I know, Jake thinks about it sometimes. Well text me when you leave the diner but call me if you're gonna go down to Jake's. I'll meet you at the treaty line._

_Sent: Paul_

_Ok._

Returning back to work, placing her phone into her apron's pocket once more, Marilyn began to feel nervous. What the hell had she been thinking by bringing up the fact that she used to be overweight before? Just because he was suddenly in love with her and his soul claimed hers didn't mean she should suddenly start blabbing about something like that in the beginning of their relationship. That was conversation for when they made it past a month at least or hit three months of being –

Wait – they weren't _together_. They were just friends for now.

Even as she thought it though, she knew she was wrong. He could agree to move slowly in this relationship and just 'be friends' for now, but they both knew that she could never have another 'friend' – neither of them could. His soul claimed hers, and for some reason her soul had already accepted it. He consumed her thoughts, her dreams, and he was always there in the back of her mind even when she tried to think of something or concentrate on something else.

Just because she wouldn't allow him to officially claim her as his right now didn't mean that she wasn't. Paul would become possessive over her, and make sure no guy ever asked her out again. From this moment on he would be the only possible choice in her life. He was her only option. They could move as slowly as she wanted to, but he was the only guy able to talk to her until she fell asleep at night; the only guy she could spend all of her time texting. He was the only guy allowed to text her good morning. They could move as slow as a snail, but at the end it would still only be him. He accepted that right now she only wanted a friendship, but they both knew that when she wanted a relationship, he would be her only option; he was literally the only guy available to her.

And it should have annoyed her – it should have pissed her the fuck off for him to claim her at such a young age; to decide she belonged to him without asking her permission.

But it didn't. She couldn't understand it, but it pleased her. It sickened her with how much it pleased her to know that there was a guy out there that would get jealous of her with other guys; that there was someone out there who would make sure she didn't date anybody but him. She wasn't looking forward to it, and she kept watching the clock to see if it was time for her to clock out yet so she could rush home and get over Bella just to talk to Paul again tonight, but it didn't piss her off as much as it should have either.

What the fuck happened to her? Is this what they meant when they warned people to never look someone directly in their eyes – could even an ordinary human claim someone's soul by mistake? Was there an insane truth behind the tale of love at first sight?

$371.48 – that was how much Marilyn had made in tips alone by the end of her shift. If someone had once told her before that she would be able to make $371.48 in tips while working as a waitress in a small town diner for just a nine hour shift, she'd had laughed in their face and told them they were crazy.

_Sent: Paul_

_I just jumped into my car & should be home in like half an hour. I'll text you when I get there, but Bella's already there so after a quick shower I'm just gonna deal with her._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Ok. I'm leaving the garage right now to meet up with the guys. If Cullen's there & you're gonna take off just call me._

_Sent: Paul_

_Is someone gonna be at the house?_

_Inbox: Paul_

_Nah. You and Bella need to talk so we're gonna leave you guys alone. If Cullen doesn't show up though and you stay home then just let me know when you guys are done talking so someone can circle around._

_Sent: Paul_

_Ok._

He had her eager. Paul had Marilyn eager for so many things. For the first time in her life she looked forward to talking to someone and getting to know them; with her previous boyfriends she didn't care if they didn't call or text her because she was too busy to notice. But with Paul her mind was concentrated on him even while working, and she kept praying for a quick pause in her schedule just to text him at least. It was strange and frightening and exciting all at once.

Finding Bella sitting on the couch when she got home, pleased to see that Edward wasn't anywhere to be found, Marilyn ran upstairs to the bathroom to take a shower. Once covered in baby powder and wearing a pair of bright yellow sweatpants that had been cut into tiny shorts, with a black spaghetti strap, Marilyn returned to the living room while rolling up her hair. She texted Paul to let him know she was at home and about to start talking to Bella right now, and to assure him that Edward wasn't around, and she also knew that her dad wasn't home. She and her sister were free to talk.

"I'm sorry," Bella said lamely, sitting on the couch while Marilyn made herself comfortable on Charlie's recliner with a cup of hot tea in her hands.

"For which part?" she asked bitterly, scowling across at her older sister. "For tossing me to the side once the Cullens returned, for trying to keep me from getting to know my soul mate, or for acting like a bitch since the Cullens returned?"

Biting her bottom lip, beginning to fidget with her hands now, Bella frowned softly, "I didn't – I didn't mean to be a bitch or push you to the side, Marilyn. I'm not sorry for trying to keep you away from Paul, and I'm still annoyed that you know the truth now, but I am sorry for pulling away. I just didn't know how to face you."

"Because I was the one who kept you alive after Edward left you for dead?!"

"Because…" taking in a deep breath, Bella shook her head, "Because of what happened when I found Edward. How much did the pack tell you?"

"I know all about James and Victoria, and you being Edward's singer, and Jasper freaking out and trying to kill you because of a paper cut. Whatever you told Jake and the others, I know. Everything that the pack knows, I know. And I know a bit more that you don't even know from their end."

Nodding her head, brushing it off, Bella was still fidgeting with her hands and wringing her fingers together in her shirt, "Because a lot has happened since I left them?"

"Yeah."

"Well a lot has happened on our end too…" Bella sighed. Giving her little sister a frantic look, Bella said, "Why don't we leave, Mari? Edward's been trying to get me to leave for a while anyway, but I didn't want to. But if you'll come with me, we can-"

"If I leave Paul's side for too long before the bond has a chance to fully sedate itself, he'll get weak and sick," she said at once, quickly shaking her head. "I can't leave Paul."

"Oh…"

"What the hell happened to you, Bella?" Marilyn asked softly, watching as the darkness in her sister's eyes dimmed in defeat. She wasn't herself anymore, that much was obvious, but something was also wrong to make her this weak and naïve person. She'd been strong once… until Edward Cullen got involved.

"There's a group called the Volturi…" she sighed, no longer wringing her fingers but instead running them through her mousy hair. "Edward doesn't want me to tell you this, because he doesn't want Jake to find out. But I know you think I turned against you, and I mean it when I say that I love you, Marilyn – I really do."

"Edward's gonna turn you, isn't he?" when Bella gasped loudly, looking stunned that Marilyn seemed to know what she was going to say before she could say it, Marilyn felt her throat contract as her heart fell low into her stomach. "Paul – Paul said last night that Quil brought it up when they were trying to figure out why you pulled away from them all. He thinks you can't look them in the eyes knowing you're gonna turn into a leech after everything they did to help you, and after everything the Cullens did to you. He's right, isn't he? That's why you're icing me out too, isn't it? You can't look at me because one day I'm gonna think that you're dead, but you'll just be living in a new state with a new identity…"

Silent at first, clutching her hand to her chest and looking completely distraught, Bella slowly nodded her head and then lowered her eyes so she wouldn't have to see the disappointment and betrayal in her little sister's eyes. "He doesn't want to, but the Volturi threatened me. Humans can't know the truth because it puts them all into danger and disrupts the way of things. Alice told the leader she saw a vision of me being one of them, so the Volturi gave us a time limit – they have one year to turn me."

"A…" this time Marilyn gasped softly, and cradling the cup of tea in her hands she frowned down at it as her throat tightened. "You're gonna be dead in a year?"

"I won't be dead, Marilyn…"

"Yeah, but you're gonna be one of them," and then her betrayal grew, "And you're only telling me this 'cause I'm involved now because of Paul. If he didn't imprint on me, I would've spent all my life thinking my big sister died, Bella," now her hatred began to grow too, and she snapped her head up, "Mom, Phil, Dad – they're all gonna mourn you and think you're dead, but you won't be! You chose to live for eternity instead with a fucking guy that left you for dead!"

"It's not like that! If Edward doesn't turn me, the Volturi will kill me! And then I really will be dead!"

"Look me in my eyes, Isabella Marie, you look me in my eyes right now, and you tell me that the Volturi is the only reason you're becoming one of them – that you haven't been planning on turn already!" when Bella only avoided looking at her, and began to fidget on the couch, Marilyn snorted and then gave her sister a disgusted look, "For what? To live forever and look like one of them?"

"I love Edward, Marilyn."

"You love him so much that you gave up your own family for him. He shouldn't expect that of you – if he really loved you, he wouldn't expect you to give up on us!"

"I don't, Marilyn, she chose to do this on her own despite knowing how I feel about it."

Snapping her head up once she heard the cold voice she grew to hate, Marilyn put her cup down onto the floor and then jumped up. Edward just entered the house from the front door. Glaring up at him, allowing him to see how much she truly hated him and how he was forcing her to begin to hate her sister too, Marilyn said, "I'm leaving."

Jumping up, Bella said, "Marilyn, he just wanted to talk to you so that you could-"

"I said I didn't want him here, because for once it's about you, Bella!" shouted Marilyn, snapping her arm out of her sister's grasp and allowing her to see the unshed tears. "For the first time, this was our chance to get everything out in the open. I don't even know you anymore! I don't know this weak person you've become, and I don't like it; I don't like you anymore! I could've talked to him _tomorrow_. I asked for only _you _today, because you're my sister. But you couldn't even do that; you couldn't even give me _one _day!"

"I'll just leave…"

"No, stay. You leaving won't make a difference, Cullen!" she spat out at him, looking over her shoulder as she made her way up to her room to grab her things. "She made her choice, and it's obviously you."

"Marilyn, this isn't fair!"

"What's not fair is you bringing him here to ambush me!"

_Sent: Jake_

_Hey, is it cool if I crash at your place tonight? I was ambushed so I'm leaving right now!_

_Sent: Paul_

_I'm leaving right now! They ambushed me!_

_Inbox: Jake_

_Yeah, I'll let my dad know._

_Inbox: Paul_

_Ambushed you how? Did they fucking touch you?!_

_Sent: Paul_

_He showed up in the middle of our conversation. I jumped up at once to leave. I'm fine. Just pissed as hell!_

_Inbox: Jake_

_Ambushed was a wrong word to use. Paul's phased in right now & can't phase back. Jared will meet you at the treaty line then jump in with you._

_Sent: Jake_

_Shit, my bad._

_Inbox: Jake_

_Don't worry about it._ _Just hurry up & get here safely!_

With all of her school things, and her gym bag, tossed in the backseat of her car, Marilyn also had her work uniform and work shoes tossed into the backseat. Still wearing her spaghetti strap and cutup sweatpants, she only threw on a bra and a jacket and then slipped on some slippers and grabbed her phone, keys, and water bottle. Ignoring both Bella and Edward when they tried to talk to her and convince her to stay at home to just talk to them both about everything, Marilyn allowed her sister to see the hurt in her eyes and allowed Edward to know she blamed him for killing her sister and breaking her and weakening her and tearing them apart.

"Let me drive," Jared said, opening the driver's door once Marilyn pulled to the side of the road where he was waiting for her. Not arguing with him because she'd been speeding and driving carelessly because of the tears blurring her vision from how hurt and pissed she was that her sister knowingly allowed Edward to come over, and because they couldn't even finish talking about everything, Marilyn crawled over to the passenger seat. Watching as Jared jumped into the driver's seat, she caught a flash of grey and silver through the trees and shivered. "He's gonna run with us, then run for a bit afterwards. He'll meet us at Jake's later," Jared said, beginning to drive. He saw that Marilyn spotted the wolf watching them from the trees.

Nodding her head, Marilyn pulled her hair free and then re-rolled it up again. "Were you guys doing anything important?"

"Actually…" he said carefully, glancing down at her when he heard the tears in her voice, "We kinda all expected Cullen to show up, so we were just hanging out at Jake's and waiting for you to call or text."

"Oh…"

"Are you sure they didn't touch you or hurt you?" there was a deep growl in his throat. He spotted her tears, witnessed her rough driving, and he could hear the tears in her voice; he would kill for his best friend's mate.

Nodding her head, Marilyn sighed and leaned her head back onto her seat while pulling her feet up onto her dashboard. "It's stupid. I'm just really hurt right now. I made it known I only wanted to talk to her today, and that I didn't want him anywhere near the house while we spoke, and I also made it known that I would up and leave if I saw him. And yet she still planned it with him so he would come over while we were talking. Not only did we not finish our conversation, but she also had him walk in in the middle of our conversation. It wasn't even ten minutes when he came in, so we didn't even really talk about anything that I wanted to talk about."

"That's really fucked!"

"And then when I snapped, she tried to say that Edward just really wanted me to understand. I cut her off before she could finish, and made it known that _I _really wanted to just talk to her; talk to her about _everything _today. I could've just talked to Edward tomorrow. Why do I need to confront him about everything before confronting my own sister?! Shouldn't it matter what _I _want?! Shouldn't my confusion and questions come first? Why can't she just focus on placating me first, instead of making sure he's okay?! I just found out that I'm already claimed for life, and that my older sister is dating a vampire that almost got her killed already – shouldn't she be worried about how _I _feel?! Not once did she even fucking ask me if I was okay or if I felt alright or if I was happy with this! But no… it's what Edward wants! Ugh! And then she had the nerve to make it sound as if I was being selfish for not wanting him there with her stupid condescending eyes and her stupid tone as if scolding a child for being a brat! And then Edward was just like 'I'll leave' but no – it's too late. You shouldn't have fucking been there in the first fucking place!"

Through her rant, Jared remained silent and calm. He focused on the road, driving carefully, occasionally glancing between the forest and the ranting girl now venting her frustrations to him, and through it all he just let her shout without interruptions. It was only when they finally pulled in front of Jacob's house, with Billy sitting in his wheelchair on the front porch, that Jared put the car into park and finally took in a deep breath. His voice was deep and raspy, as if he'd been struggling to control himself all this time, "Get inside already, Marilyn, and just calm down and breathe. I have to do something right now, but I'll be back later to check up on you."

"Oh… sorry…"

Chuckling when he heard the apology, Jared shook his head and then reached out to pat her hand, "Don't be sorry, you did nothing wrong."

"I rambled."

"You _vented_," he corrected her, "To a friend. And I didn't mind it. I just gotta do something real quick, then I'll be back later."

"Okay," she nodded her head, jumping out of the car with her purse and water bottle.

"You need anything from the backseat?"

Shaking her head as she took her keys from Jared, she said, "Nope, it's all just school stuff and my uniform for the diner for tomorrow."

"You okay, Mari?" asked Billy, greeting the distraught fifteen year old girl as she walked across to him. He took in her red nose and teary eyes, then sighed heavily, "I'll make the tea."

Having to run out to the trunk of her car to grab her bags, muttering about how useful it was no matter what her dad said, Marilyn had to take another shower because the boys that were there and waiting for her all complained that just the few minutes she spent in her house with Edward had her stinking like him, and she didn't want to smell like a Cullen in general. So grinning because her trunk came in handy, Marilyn managed to take a shower with her own body wash, and she even had her own clothes to use afterwards. Not having any underwear on beneath her shorts because she hadn't been planning on needing to take another shower afterwards, Marilyn just tossed her shorts and top into a plastic bag then threw it into the rainbow tote while keeping on the same bra. She also pulled on a pair of green and yellow striped pajama shorts, and a black undershirt once lathered up with her lotion and covered in baby powder; she had a habit of putting baby powder between her legs, her thighs, on her breasts, beneath her neck, and even beneath her arms once finished showering for the night. She could see the boys all giving her confused looks when they saw it everywhere.

"At least you don't smell disgusting anymore," Jacob announced when she left the twins' old room after dropping her things off in it.

Chuckling when she saw the others all nodding in agreement, Marilyn threw herself down onto the couch next to Seth. "Where'd Billy go?"

"Charlie called to have a few drinks with him so he decided to meet him over in Forks instead of having him come here and seeing you."

"Oh… wait, it's eight something at night. Why is my dad calling him to drink?"

"Because Charlie got home and found Bella crying and his other daughter missing. He decided it's his right as a father to get drunk."

"Oh," then snorting, Marilyn pulled her legs up onto the couch, "That's bullshit. Why the hell is she crying – this is all her fault anyways!"

"Are you feeling better though?" asked Embry in a worried voice.

Nodding her head, she took in a deep breath, "I think I scared Jared off though."

Laughing deeply, it was Jacob who shook his head. He was sitting on his dad's recliner, and leaning back on it all the way, "Nah, you didn't. He probably just left to check up on Paul since Paul was running alongside you guys, and with the whole 200 foot thing, he could hear you venting."

"Oh…" then looking around the small living room, noticing that Sam was missing too, she asked where he was.

"He ran out with Paul and Jared after you texted," explained Seth. "He figured he might need his alpha voice to keep Paul from doing anything. After Paul texted you to make sure they didn't do anything to you when you said you were ambushed, he ended up phasing in as soon as he hit send. It's a good thing he didn't break his phone."

"Oh shit… I didn't mean to freak him out like that!" she blanched, feeling guilty all of a sudden. "I just meant that I was ambushed as in they planned for Edward to come in in the middle of our talk. I guess they figured with the bombshell Bella just dropped on me, I wouldn't think of taking off without hearing more."

"Bombshell?" cocked Jacob at once, instantly returning the recliner to its normal state so that he was sitting upright. "What bombshell?"

"Oh, uhh…" pulling her hair loose so she could play with it now, something the entire pack noticed was a relaxer for her at this point, Marilyn eyed them all wearily. "Umm… I'm pretty sure that Jake's gonna phase in once I say what my sister told me. If any of you guys are gonna phase in too please go far away from me. I don't think Paul's gonna calm down if he finds out you all phased in and hurt me or killed me."

Marilyn's warning had every single one of them tensing, but only Jacob jumped up to move as far away from her as possible. Not only was she Paul's imprint, but he was her friend; one of his oldest friends. He wouldn't have hurt her even if Paul wasn't involved with her. "They're turning her, aren't they?" questioned Quil in a soft voice, giving Marilyn a worried look.

Nodding her head, watching Jacob to see his reaction, Marilyn bit her bottom lip, "Y-Yeah… we were talking about it when Edward came inside," Jacob's body began to tremble, and he shut his eyes to inhale deeply. Marilyn noticed the way that Embry jumped up as if to move in front of her. Jacob was too far out of reach to hurt her, but Embry wanted to make sure of it. And they all saw how she looked at Jacob as she spoke; knowing this news would affect him as much as it affected her. Even if he weren't in love with Bella.

The front door flew open instantly, and Paul came rushing in drenched with a sheet of glistening sweat on his russet colored flesh; Marilyn stared at him wide-eyed, quickly admiring the scene. Panting heavily with his thick and muscular chest heaving up and down heavily, wearing his cutoff jeans sloppily as if he just threw it on in a rush, Paul ran straight to Marilyn and pulled her up only to push her away from the couch. She yelped loudly from the sudden action, not expecting it, but then she saw him turn a glare onto Jacob, "Get the hell outta here, Jake!"

Jared and Sam came running in soon after, also in just their cutoffs and shirtless, and Jared rushed to Paul while Sam rushed to Jacob, "I'm fine!" Jacob shouted loudly in annoyance, scowling across at Paul now, and shrugging Sam off of him, "I'm not phasing in – I moved away from her, and started breathing!"

Positioning his body as if prepared to phase in instantly to attack Jacob if he had to, Paul gave him a threatening look, "I don't wanna chance it!"

"I'm fine!" repeated Jake heatedly, looking pissed now. "All you're doing is making it worse right now."

"You okay, Marilyn?" asked Quil, walking across to her, and grabbing her arm to check it when he saw her rubbing at it. There was a small bruise from when Paul pulled her up and then forcefully shoved her away.

Nodding her head, looking down at the small bruise, she said, "Yeah, it doesn't even hurt."

"What doesn't even hurt?" asked Paul at once, snapping his head at where Quil and Marilyn were. His nostrils flared once he spotted the bruise, and the way Quil was gently running his thumb over it, and then his face softened and he rushed to Marilyn's side immediately, "Fuck, did I do that?!" his voice was pained and strangled. He had hurt his imprint.

"It's fine," she said, brushing it off, and pulling her arm away from the two wolves while the others watched closely. "You were trying to get me away from Jake, and away from yourself in case you phased in too…" as she thought about it, it had her stomach coiling though. Apparently, Edward hurt Bella by flying her away from Jasper when she got her paper cut…

"It's not fine," he growled at her, looking over at Jared, "Can you get an icepack, man?"

"Paul, you idiot!" hissed Jacob, stalking across the living room now. "I _left _her side so she wouldn't get hurt. You didn't have to fly her like you did."

"At least he didn't fly me into a mirror and a glass bowl…" chuckled Marilyn awkwardly, growing uncomfortable by all the sudden attention now on her. "Though, I don't think I can hold that one against Edward anymore unless I feel like getting shit from Bella about this."

They all heard the light laughter in her voice as she tried to turn a tense situation into a joking matter to ease the tension in the room, but Paul only frowned down at her, "I didn't mean to grip your arm so tightly or push you away so hard, Marilyn. I'm sorry."

"I know," she assured him, smiling up at him with honesty in her eyes. She truly didn't blame him for this because she knew he was only protecting her. Her sister's words also echoed in her ears, but this situation was different. Paul was literally protecting her because he was afraid that Jacob would phase in, and he was also afraid he would phase in once Jacob did – he wanted her far away from them both when that happened. "Seriously, it doesn't hurt, and it barely even looks like a bruise," it was as small as a thumbprint from being gripped too tightly. It wasn't an entire handprint on her shoulder from pulling her away from a friend she was talking to, or sprained fingers from gripping her hand too tightly because Jacob called her phone.

"Here."

Rolling her eyes at Jared when he gave her a gallon sized ziplock bag filled with ice, Marilyn said, "Really?"

"Just put it against your arm, Marilyn," Jared ordered her. She waited for him to start laughing about how he purposely exaggerated the ice just to humor Paul, but when she saw that Jared was completely serious, she groaned and took it from him then made a dramatic show about it pressing it to the tiny little bruise that would probably be gone before morning. "We heard you talking while walking back, and Paul took off running from us."

"Imprints override alpha and beta orders," Sam announced to the others with a conflicted look in his eyes; this could be extremely dangerous for the future of their pack if he couldn't order his wolves around. "Jared and I both ordered him to stop running, but he was able to ignore it 'cause he was more focused on getting to Marilyn before Jacob phased in."

With an impressed look on her face, allowing Paul to lead her to the couch so she could sit down with the overly giant icepack, Marilyn glanced up at him and found him still staring at her arm with a tightened jaw. She could see the struggle in his eyes – leave and go running before he hurts her again or stay and make sure she's alright.

"Maybe it's only because he thought she was in danger?" suggested Embry with a shrug of his shoulders. "It could be where an imprint's safety comes before an alpha's order. He thought she was in danger so he could ignore you to protect her. But maybe it'll be different if she's perfectly safe."

Thinking it over, looking almost curious now, Sam said, "There's only one way to test it out. I'm gonna give Paul an order, Marilyn. Try to override it," when she nodded her head, also eager to see if this would work, Sam looked down at Paul, "Paul, go out for a run!" Marilyn trembled when she heard the authority in his voice; it was deeper than she's ever heard it before, and nothing like the voice she was to from him. The alpha voice had a different tone to it than his regular voice. And she could see that the others were all grateful he isolated Paul specifically or else they all probably would have jumped up to go running once Sam spoke.

Paul cocked a brow, and glanced over his shoulder at Sam. It looked for a moment like he was prepared to argue, but then Marilyn said, "Umm… Paul, can you make me tea?"

"That's not an order, Marilyn…" sighed Jacob from his dad's recliner, pinching the bridge of his nose while the others laughed at her shy innocence. "You have to-"

"Yeah sure," Paul said quickly, jumping up and walking towards the kitchen. Then with a smug look on his face he looked over at Sam, and said, "Go fuck yourself, Sam."

"I guess imprints don't have to give an order; polite requests work for them…" mused Seth, laughing loudly at the shocked look on Sam's face from what Paul told him to do.

Biting back her chuckles while the others were crossed between laughing and staring in surprise, Marilyn gave Sam an apologetic look, "Maybe it's because he's too bothered right now because of the bruise, so he thinks I'm hurt?"

"You are hurt!" Paul shouted from the kitchen, from where he was boiling water for her.

"See…" she shrugged.

"That would make some sense too," sighed Sam, running a hand through his hair. "Right now his mind is still concentrated on you, thinking you're in danger, so it could still override me. You mind trying it out one day when he's in a better mood?"

"Sure," she nodded. "What will happen if I have a louder voice than you do when it comes to him?"

Frowning, and looking a little annoyed, Sam bitterly said, "It means I lost control over one of my best wolves."

"And it also means that once the rest of us start imprinting, Sam won't be able to keep us all on lockdown too," grinned Quil, suddenly looking extremely excited at the thought of imprinting on someone.

Seeing how the others all quickly began to look a little more interested now, including Jacob, Marilyn could also see the frustration in Sam's eyes. The point of an alpha was to keep order in the pack. He used his alpha voice to keep them all in line, and to keep them out patrolling to protect the tribe. If he lost order, he could lose his pack, and they could all become sloppy and allow people to get hurt or get hurt themselves. Understanding how important Sam's alpha voice was to his pack, Marilyn gave him a smirking look that had all boys immediately shutting up while Jacob called for Paul to check on his girl before she did something stupid.

Paul came running out of the kitchen just as Marilyn loudly said, "Don't worry, Sam, I won't override you though. And when the others start imprinting too, I can just remind the girls how important it is that the guys do as you say because you keep them in line."

"Sweetheart, why would you say this?"

"Marilyn Clarissa Swan, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Thanks, Marilyn," grinned Sam. He could see that Marilyn knew what he was thinking, and he also knew that there were times when she would have no problem balking his authority against Paul if it came to certain things, but when it came to important situations she would allow Sam to keep his leader position over her mate.

Nodding at Sam, giving him a gentle smile, she turned a darkened look onto Jacob, "What the hell did you just call me, Jacob Hunter Black?!"


End file.
